"From votes for 16 year olds to the ‘triple lock plus’ ... parties prefer cynical bribes to a real vision for the future"
Telegraph: 29th May 2024: Madeline Grant writes about her disappointment at what she has seen so far in the run up to July 4th
"Often forgotten beside A Rake’s Progress, William Hogarth satirised the 18th century democratic process in his series The Humours of an Election. From flagrant bribery of electors to shenanigans on polling day, he paints a graphic picture of a democratic system entering necrosis...
We might be tempted to view such representations of historical politics and comfort ourselves over the stupidity and corruption of our forebears......However, the last laugh may well be with Hogarth...
Consider Hogarth’s primary theme: the omnipresence of bribes...
This is the bribery election, perhaps the most shameless of my lifetime. All sides appear to be reverting to their basest instincts with ill-thought-out policies designed not for the national interest but to cajole an unenthused base. The equivalent of free electoral viagra handed out at the world’s ugliest orgy...
..You might have expected some bold offer for the country... Instead, we receive a set of half-promises amounting to little more than the greasing of palms..."