Maajid Nawaz: 'Tory sleaze the Achilles heel of government'
13 November 2021, 16:36 | Updated: 14 November 2021, 12:04
Sleaze is 'Achilles heel' of government
Criticisms of the government are 'beginning to stick' amid the Tory sleaze row, according to Maajid Nawaz.
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Reflecting on the slew of scandals embroiling the Conservative party of late, Maajid Nawaz made the case that the public are beginning to lose patience with the government.
Read more: 'Stupid question': Iain Duncan Smith shrugs off concerns of Tory sleaze
"All of this started building up" back in the early days of the pandemic, he said, reminding listeners of Dominic Cummings' trip to Barnard Castle and the contract fiasco.
Read more: 'Sleaze' accusations grow as Scottish Tory leader fails to declare £28k from extra jobs
"I think people are tired", he argued. "They see that our democracy has been for sale."
"The highest bidder gets to buy politicians, gets to buy legislation, gets to buy influence, gets to buy position in the House of Lords."
Read more: Analysis: PM in a much weaker position amid Tory sleaze row, Theo Usherwood writes
'Sleaze is infecting Tory party from top to bottom' says Labour MP
He believed strongly that Tory sleaze is "the main factor leading to the decline in popularity of Boris Johnson."
Read more: Tory Owen Paterson quits as MP hours after humiliating government U-turn on sleaze rules
Maajid recalled a dip in support for the government around the time of Matt Hancock's resignation, where the PM supported the then-Health Secretary until Mr Hancock resigned himself.
"He didn't learn his lesson from Matt Hancock" he said, drawing similarities between that and the Owen Paterson ordeal.
"It's about time this has begun to stick."
