Feeding the frenzy

Tony Blair once remarked, during one of the periodic feeding frenzies that engulf British politics, that public life was becoming a game of ‘gotcha’. These days feeding frenzies, like Atlantic hurricanes, seem to strike with increasing frequency. No week passes without someone, somewhere calling for this or that minister to quit. When a minister does resign the focus quickly switches to whomever is next in line. No sooner has the defence secretary gone than Damian Green enters the frame, until Priti Patel obligingly puts her head on the block, only to be followed by Boris Johnson, and so on.

Now, three weeks on, Damian Green is again back in the spotlight. At the time of writing his prospects do not look good. The danger is that his fall — if that is the outcome — will trigger demands for a search of all the computers in the Palace of Westminster to determine who has been watching pornography in office hours. Given that about 5,000 people work in parliament there is a huge potential treasure trove. A vast feeding frenzy beckons.

It’s easy journalism, of course. In recent years, emboldened perhaps by the Great Parliamentary Expenses Meltdown, tabloid culture has spread into the mainstream. The BBC, I am sorry to say, is one of the worst offenders. Incredibly, they even used a helicopter to track Priti Patel’s movements from the moment her plane touched down at Heathrow. If that isn’t skewed priorities, I don’t know what is.

There is a PhD thesis to be written on ‘Great Feeding Frenzies I Have Known’. One of my favourites was when, in the spring of 2002, it was alleged that Tony Blair had tried to manipulate himself a more prominent seat at the Queen Mother’s funeral.