3 ms·
AIUI the term first became common in the mid-1990s; Labour at the time were in opposition, and I have read Labour were very fond of using the term because it wa
by pm215 5y ago
AIUI the term first became common in the mid-1990s; Labour at the time were in opposition, and I have read Labour were very fond of using the term because it was wider and easier to apply to any even slightly-murky thing a Tory MP had got involved in, whereas if you claim that thing to be "corruption" then a chunk of voters will feel you're over-exaggerating and won't be so likely to go along with your argument.
- cjrp 5y agoI wonder if it's also to do with slander/libel laws. Saying something is sleazy is more subjective than saying it's corrupt.
- michaelt 5y agoYou can also apply "sleaze" more broadly - which despite being less precise, may let you represent the facts more accurately. Senior politician cheats on his fiancée with a former stripper? Not corruption. But definitely sleaze. That same senior politician gives £25,000 of taxpayer money to the former stripper - but giving 'business development' grants is within his power? Arguably corruption. But definitely sleaze.
- hellbannedguy 5y agoPaying off a indiscretion with tax payer money is sleeze. I don't care how he acts privately. (consenting adults stuff.)
- tialaramex 5y agoRight. As an example from the other side, just this morning I read a Private Eye article (it's from last month, I am busy at work, I have a backlog) about a Labour MP who happens to be renting a London flat whose actual owners are hiding behind a series of offshore entities presumably to both dodge taxation and hide their identities. Officially Labour is staunchly against such things, but rather than help uncover what exactly is going on with her flat of course she, and Labour itself, threatened to sue any journalist who mentioned the matter... That is what sleaze looks like. We've got no proof there's any wrongdoing here, much less anything illegal but that sure would be easier to believe if they didn't threaten to sue people who report what they do know... A lot of the Tory stuff is plainly corruption, but expect Tory papers in particular to soft pedal it. They don't want to get called out for not reporting a huge story, but they needn't emphasise how bad it really is.