Something rotten?

I read a national broadsheet every morning and while I would not deny that there have been articles on Freemasonry particularly within the Palace of Westminster, “full of articles” might be overstating the case.
Yes there is much for those who wish to be outraged to be outraged about - male, secret, elitist, and probably white and middle class, although I could not comment as of course we don’t know, but there is also too much of the “this should not be allowed” rhetoric.
Are there not greater evils worthy of our indignation, or is this a “soft” target?

You are obviously not reading responses. I have no problem with FM in a private setting- what is clear- is that Senior Police, Judiciary and business that take on contracts from Councils or GVT- should have their FM association declared.

Simple, really?

If you go to a specialist in any profession, for advice- do you expect them to refer you to the best person for the job- or to one of their FM members?

I am however giving my opinion which is the raison d’être of discussion forums.
Whether I am clearly not reading the responses here is a matter for conjecture.
Corruption of any sort in high places is undeniably grounds for concern, just saying there may be other examples to concern us.

In my view, corruption is not a "soft" target - indeed it is a very hard nut to crack and, I would imagine, can be found in all parts of the world, in all industries, professions and public bodies.

I think that corruption, that is the acquisition of contracts or favours (eg to overlook illegal or unethical behaviour) on the basis of "you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours" or on the basis of threats or bribes, is probably at the root of injustice and inequality across the globe.

If that does apply to the Masons, Eloethan, and I can't be sure it does, it applies to many other groups.
It's called nepotism.

I didn't say it just applies to the Freemasons Fennel . Nepotism or any other covert or overt favouritism of one group over another should not, in my opinion, be a feature of public life.

But it is and always will be I suspect.
It’s no good expecting human nature to change.

lemongrove If you take that view to its logical conclusion, we would still, for example, be allowed to kidnap and enslave black people, legally permit husbands to "chastise" their wives and lay exclusive claim to the children of the marriage, and put up "No Blacks, No Irish, No Dogs" in our windows.

So, only the UK to change human nature then Eloethan?
Because no other country will be changing anything, and actually the UK is possibly one of the least corrupt countries in the world.

That may be so but those advances were only made because people, and initially only a few people, opposed what was happening.

Using the "human nature" argument is so defeatist.

But realistic.

The UK one of the least corrupt countries in the world?
What bubble do you live in, lemon?

lemongrove - thanks for that.
My husband had a successful business during the '70s to 90s.
He employed mostly family members, which is nepotism.
What was wrong with that?

It's corrupt fennel obviously!!

dj, I might regret asking this but can you substantiate your post?

I get sick of people putting Gb down. What is the point of always denigrating the country?

A very valid point lemongrove it is very easy for those perhaps living outside this country to lament its manifold shortcomings. Instead of shock horror outrage should we not be proud of what IS good in the UK and, IMO that includes a far lesser degree of corruption than many other places.

Sorry that should have been to kittylester but I hope lemongrove is in agreement.

You've never heard of all the tax fraud that happens, then?
Obviously not.

www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2018/02/15/where-have-all-the-statesmen-gone/

Never heard of the revolving door?
Obviously not.

I didn’t say the UK was purer than pure, just that the overt corruption of many many other countries is an accepted fact of life.
“Baksheesh” is not an English word.
Get real.

There is a a far lesser degree of corruption in the UK than in many other places.

There are many networks, whether it be Old Boys, FM, other clubs, school, university or even Small Town and this is the way it has always been and probably will always continue.

What is the point of always denigrating the country?
I'm not sure kittylester - I see no point in naysayering. If that is indeed a word.

www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2018/01/22/our-government-is-still-going-out-of-its-way-to-support-tax-haven-abuse/

If you do a search on taxresearch for corruption you will have 725 articles.

Parody Project:
Who?

I do think that durhamjen has a point.

Whilst I believe that the majority of people in business and in public life in the UK are not mired in corruption, it seems to be the opinion of many experts that the UK financial sector facilitates corruption across the globe.

This is a headline and extract from the Financial Times which I assume is a fairly reputable source:

"Dark money: London’s dirty secret
An insider at a Swiss bank warned Britain’s financial watchdogs that bankers in its UK office were offering services that could facilitate tax evasion and money laundering. Did the regulators turn a blind eye? The FT investigates the City’s role as a global hub for illicit finance"

www.financialsecrecyindex.com/introduction/introducing-the-fsi

If Britain's network of tax havens were assessed together it would be at the top of the list.

www.financialsecrecyindex.com/PDF/UnitedKingdom.pdf