The anti-sleaze reaction was bound to shift from inchoate rage to an institutionalised expression over the summer. The English are nothing, if not clubbable, especially when focused on some moral outrage. Alan Duncan, for his faux pas, has become the latest target.
Mr Duncan, the shadow leader of the House who has represented the Leicestershire constituency of Rutland and Melton since 1992, is the main target of the “honest politics” alliance forged by Mr Bell and Mr Waite.The ex-journalist said that up to 30 anti-sleaze candidates would be standing at the general election, with a shared cause of bringing "honesty" to the House of Commons.
“The common platform would be a return to honest politics,” he said. “That’s the thing that would unite everybody. Rutland and Melton has become vulnerable.”Whilst the "honest politics" coalition wishes to remain a focus of public anger and avoid media belittlement, they reduce their chances of success by a lack of publicity. By next summer, they will require celebrities in order to draw attention to themselves in constituencies, as the pus they wish to lance will have been drawn.