Leaders | Government in Britain

Boris Johnson treats checks and balances with contempt

He seems to think rules are for losers

THE FACTS are damning. Owen Paterson, a former Tory Cabinet minister now on the backbenches, was paid £9,000 ($12,700) a month for consulting work by two companies, one and a half times his parliamentary salary. And, sure enough, he earned his keep by lobbying ministers and officials on their behalf. The commissioner for standards, an independent officer, concluded that he had brought Parliament into disrepute.

This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “Are rules for losers?”

One year on

From the November 6th 2021 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

More from Leaders

Upside down warning signs with an exclamation mark in the shape of martini glasses

Health warnings about alcohol give only half the story

Enjoyment matters as well as risk

Marine recruits take part in a simualted combat situation in Parris Island, South Carolina

Pete Hegseth’s culture war will weaken America’s armed forces

Donald Trump’s nominee for defence risks driving away talent


The capitalist revolution Africa needs

The world’s poorest continent should embrace its least fashionable idea


Just because Indonesia has nickel doesn’t mean it should make EVs

Economic nationalists are making a reckless bet

Donald the Deporter

Could a man who makes ugly promises of mass expulsion actually fix America’s immigration system?

Mark Zuckerberg’s U-turn on fact-checking is craven—but correct

Social-media platforms should not be in the business of defining truth