A running joke with my friends, is that as one of the oldest democracies in the world, we've had longer to figure out how to hide the corruption of our politici

A running joke with my friends, is that as one of the oldest democracies in the world, we've had longer to figure out how to hide the corruption of our politicians, and also to inure the population to it. One key difference in the UK is that it is at least, less intentional corruption and more a case of 'what can I get away with?', just like stealing a pen from your employer and taking it home. The UK MP equivalent is employing your spouse as office manager (when you don't really have an office), and paying a full salary, or claiming absurd travel expenses, or a second "home" in London close to Westminster. It seems though, that over the last 20-30 years, "corruption" with UK politicians has gotten worse. Perhaps that's just because of the Internet making it easier to report it. Amongst many recent ones, I always remember this one: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Anderson_(politician)#Arrest https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Anderson_(politician)#Arre... mostly because of former Liverpool Mayor, Joe Anderson's typically British nickname. Oh, and giving building contracts to your friends. Tut tut.