Not quite Old Corruption. How the Tory ruling class operates in 2023.
The term Old Corruption or sometimes The Thing was used by early nineteenth century radicals including William Cobbett to describe a pre-democratic world where Government jobs and contracts were awarded not so much on merit but on the basis of who knew who.
The world of 2023 has some similarities and some differences. The State is vastly larger than 200 years ago (as of course is the population and the economy). There are processes in place to ensure that public appointments are done in a transparent and accountable way.
A problem however is that the ruling class and its networks still exists. There is nothing secret about this, no conspiracy. Oliver Shah in the Sunday Times (29th January) drew attention to some recent and relevant connections.
The father of the BBC’s Richard Sharp, was Eric Sharp who Cable and Wireless in the 1980s after Thatcher privatised it. He received a life peerage as Lord Sharp of Grimsdyke. Richard Sharp’s twin, Victoria is a High Court judge. Sharp’s first wife also called Victoria subsequently married Sir Simon Robey is firm has advised George Osborne.
Rishi Sunak was Sharp’s junior advisor at Goldman Sachs. Sharp took PPE at Oxford and entered the City with a job at JP Morgan in 1983. Between 2004 and 2013 Sharp donated £400,000 to the Tories. He is known to be a regular at Oswald’s a private members club in Mayfair where he dined with Nadhim Zahawi.
It’s just a snapshot of a section of the British ruling class in 2023 but it is built on finance and privatisation not a hangover from the aristocratic elites of 200 years ago.
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