Student Life | Issue 40

ACCOUNTABILITY
To be accountable to the public
for their decisions… and submit
themselves to scrutiny to ensure
this.
Good one here - quickfire round.
Our new PM is somewhat of an
accountability champ, making
himself available for scrutiny at every
opportunity and rarely dodging the
limelight. Like, that time he stole
a journalist’s phone showing him
a picture of a child on the floor of
Leeds hospital, or that time one of
his henchmen swore at a camera
team as Johnson hurried to hide in
a fridge, or that time (still ongoing
at time of writing) he swerved an
interview with Andrew. Or a personal
favourite, when he delivered milk to a
conservative supporter at 5am in the
morning, bravely handing over two
pints before scurrying off to crack on
with losing farming subsidies.
OPENNESS
To act and make decisions in an
open transparent manner.
Remember the Russia report? A
report was drawn up detailing
Russian influence in the British
political system, which is yet to be
released despite being ready before
the election. Nothing to see here folks
- really. And I would wager a small
shed on this; anything of actual public
interest in it will appear redacted and
all who repeatedly for its release will
have to Homer meme into the hedge.
Rumour suggests the government
are waiting for climate annihilation,
hoping for the sweet transparent
water of the North Sea and Thames
Estuary to rush its way through
parliament, sweeping away their
dodgy dealings.
HONESTY
Holders of public office should be
truthful.
Ha, ha, ha. Does this one need
explaining? (see every election,
everywhere, ever).
LEADERSHIP
To robustly support the principles
and be willing to challenge poor
behaviour whenever it occurs.
The government clearly supports the
principles, as this article has seen,
and challenging bad behaviour is
integral to all those setting up camp
in Downing Street. Take Johnson’s
pound shop Machiavelli advisor
Dominic Cummings, who when
scouting for ‘weirdos and misfits’
to revolutionize government hired
a ‘super forecaster’. The kind with
support for all those funky quirks like
eugenics, mandatory contraception,
and the impact of racial difference on
IQ. Didn’t see that one coming.
It doesn’t take a super forecaster to
predict where lying, hypocrisy, and
deception takes us. What we can do
is call out when a government slips
below its own principles. And as
the smokescreen of accountability
becomes hazier, that job becomes
harder. Punch wildly through the
smoke and you might just land one.
39 39 •• MARCH ISSUE 2019 40 •• STUDENT LIFE LIFE