This is a very British scandal: sordid, sad and funny.
It also inspires an unusual level of disgust from many voters: A YouGov poll of 3,739 Britons on Tuesday found that 60% of respondents said Chancellor Rishi Sunak had handled the gambling scandal “fairly badly” or “very badly.” Just 16% said he had handled the allegations “fairly well” or “very well.”
Like “Partygate”, when aides to former prime minister Boris Johnson brought suitcases full of wine into Downing Street for a karaoke party (including vomiting on the stairs) during the coronavirus lockdown, this is the kind of scandal that ordinary people can understand.
The Conservative Party has announced it will withdraw its support for two Conservative parliamentary candidates, Craig Williams and Laura Sanders, who are under investigation over gambling allegations.
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Mr Sunak said he was “very angry”.
The Labor candidate also admitted he was betting on himself.
Imagine someone in government sneaking off to make a few small bets based on inside information to make a little money, with public services being the profit hub.
Brits can legally “bet” on almost anything, including the discovery of extraterrestrial life, the existence of God, and whether Taylor Swift and Travis Kelcy will marry.
It’s a nation that loves gambling.
The betting market is dominated by sports such as football, rugby, horse racing and dog racing, but there is also a popular subcategory called political betting: in the London borough of Westminster alone, home to Downing Street and the House of Commons, there are around 140 betting establishments where you can bet on various outcomes of the 2024 elections.
On Wednesday we went to William Hill, less than a 10-minute walk from Downing Street, and placed a bet of £5 on Labour to win and £5 on the Conservatives to win, because we are independents.
If Labour wins, our payout will be £5.15. If the Conservatives win, it will be £255. Stay tuned.
The store manager declined to be named, saying he wasn’t authorized to do so, but was quick to point out that the scandal is big news for the store.
“It’s a bit of insider trading,” she said, as dogs ran and horses prancing on the television screens behind her. The top payout on a political bet, she said, could be as much as £50,000.
The latest scandal to engulf the Conservative Party involves politicians betting on election dates and the possible misuse of confidential information.
On May 22, Sunak braved the pouring rain to stand at a podium outside Downing Street and announce that the next election would be held on July 4, surprising many, but perhaps not everyone.
BBC Newsnight reported that up to 15 Conservative Party candidates and members are being investigated by the Gambling Commission over allegations of betting on the timing of the general election.
As the scandal grows, five Metropolitan police officers are also under investigation for allegedly betting on election day and the opposition Labour Party, which has suspended candidates who were bet against losing the July 4 election.
The scandal has sparked debate about whether politicians should be allowed to bet on anything political, with gambling watchdogs saying it could be illegal to use confidential information to gain an unfair advantage when placing bets.
Mel Stride, a cabinet minister and ally of Mr Sunak, told Times Radio on Wednesday there should be a debate about political gambling. “But let me be absolutely clear: I recognise that it was completely wrong to have used inside information in this way against particular individuals,” he added.
Sarah Hobolt, a political expert at the London School of Economics, told reporters at a press briefing this week that the Conservative Party is suffering from a series of “competence shocks”.
The Conservative Party has been lagging behind Labour in opinion polls since “Partygate” was first reported in late 2021. The scandal contributed greatly to the downfall of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was succeeded by Liz Truss, whose economic plans saw the British pound soar. Her premiership famously lasted no longer than a wilted head of lettuce; that period was followed by high inflation and a cost-of-living crisis.
“They never recovered after that shock,” Hobolt said.
When asked about the gambling scandal and whether politicians should be able to bet on politics, Keir Starmer, leader of the Labour Party and a leading candidate to become the next prime minister, told reporters during the election campaign that it wasn’t about the rules, it was about politicians having access to inside information.
Asked by the BBC if he had ever placed a bet himself, Mr Starmer said he never bet on politics but “Yes, I have bet on horses. Not a lot of money, but I have bet on horses.”
