Burying bad news: game-playing to the detriment of democracy

By Jill Segger

December 22, 2015

On the afternoon of 11 September 2001, an unknown political advisor used a phrase which has become part of the political and cultural lexicon.

In the immediate aftermath of the attack on New York's Twin Towers, Jo Moore, who worked for the then Transport Minister Stephen Byers, sent an email to the press office of her department which read “It's now a very good day to get out anything we want to bury.”

The terrible circumstances which gave rise to this piece of callous opportunism were unique. But the concept has become entrenched and the latest piece of cynical manoeuvring came last week as Parliament rose for the Christmas recess. The government quietly issued 36 ministerial statements and 424 reports, secure in the knowledge that none of these could be the subject of debate in the House and that the responsible ministers could not be challenged for at least three weeks.

Among this slew of information was a report on the impact of the Bedroom Tax. This study from the DWP revealed that 80 per cent of those subject to the policy regularly run out of money by the end of the week or month; one in four of those affected cut back spending on heating and electricity bills, one in five had to reduce their spending on transport, and 44 per cent had to reduce spending on food. It also reported that only 16 per cent of tenants still affected by the bedroom tax were registered to move to a smaller property and that disabled tenants had particular difficulty moving out of a property affected by bedroom tax because of “difficulties…finding a property that meets their needs as well as in packing and transporting their belongings”.

It would be hard to disagree with Owen Smith, the Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary: “This damning independent report published by the DWP itself, shows how this brutal and unfair policy deliberately drives people deeper and deeper into poverty.” And it is easy to see why the government preferred to hold back this report to a time at which it would receive less attention.

Then there were the details of cuts made to renewable energy projects by the “greenest government ever” and the increase in the number of Special Advisers. Despite the Conservatives' promise of no more than two for each cabinet minister, several of them now have three or more with an attendant rise in costs which are now £4.3 million higher than during the last year of the Labour Government.

The engagement diary of George Osborne also made for interesting reading. On the eve of Jeremy Corbyn's election as Labour's leader, the Chancellor met with the BBC. On the following day he met with Rupert Murdoch and during the following week, with Aiden Barclay, Chairman of the Telegraph Media Group. In light of the vitriol with which large parts of the media have treated Corbyn over the last three months, this flurry of activity does at the very least, raise questions. The timing of the information has neatly sidestepped those questions.

Promising open and transparent government while still Leader of the Opposition, David Cameron said that “sunlight is the best disinfectant”. The hypocrisy is shocking, but unfortunately predictable. The desire to avoid scrutiny is an insult to the electorate and to the processes of democracy.

This political game-playing has created an immense gulf between government and governed. Many politicians, from all parties, see their skill in this area as a measure of success and too many voters are willing to share that view so long as it is their party which 'benefits' from mendacity and manipulation. We need a far greater honesty all round, with a recognition that the processes of democratic accountability and thereby, our trust in politicians, must come before partisan advantage. Failure in integrity is the failure of representative government. We cannot afford to permit the least scrupulous to set the agenda.

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© Jill Segger is an Associate Director of Ekklesia with particular involvement in editorial issues. She is a freelance writer who contributes to the Church Times, Catholic Herald, Tribune, Reform and The Friend, among other publications. Jill is an active Quaker. See: http://www.journalistdirectory.com/journalist/TQig/Jill-Segger You can follow Jill on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.co/quakerpen