The 18th century was famous for corruption. So how much has changed?
Here is part of what is going on in this Hogarth picture.
Images of bribery abound … in the foreground a shower of gold flows from the Treasury into the wheelbarrow of ‘PUNCH’ the candidate for ‘GUZZLEDOWN’.
Hogarth is suggesting that the Whigs, the party of power, were using taxpayer’s money to fund election treats and other bribes.
Sound vaguely familiar? In those days there was a dreadful scandal about the way most people had no votes. Now we have one where Labour have fiddled the Electoral boundaries so much that they will get far more seats than they deserve.
As far as I can make out the person who will come out best is the one who does the best impression of the Great Bliar. If it is Clegg, he will be able to institute the electoral system which has served Italy so well. Brilliant.
Enough of this carping. This morning I looked at the guff my three candidates in Chelsea and Fulham stuck through my letterbox, and decided that much can be learned from them, including a chief reason why the Lib-Dem party is doing so well.
So I shall shortly stage another of my webinars and see what lessons we can draw from these messages. The last was the most popular I have ever run, so keep an eye open.
