A NEW poll has shown that half of voters in the UK now believe there is a "culture of sleaze" in the Tory government.
The poll follows a string of revelations of cronyism and lobbying from lucrative Covid contracts for Tory donors to former prime minister David Cameron lobbying the likes of Chancellor Rishi Sunak and other ministers on behalf of his new employer Greensill Capital.
It follows an Opinium poll published on Sunday that showed 38% of UK voters believe the Tory party are corrupt, rising to 53% amongst Scottish voters.
READ MORE: Poll shows a majority of Scots think Boris Johnson's Tories are corrupt
The new survey, conducted by Redfield & Wilton Strategies for the i, questioned 1500 people over the weekend asking whether they agree with the statement that “there is a culture of sleaze in the UK Government”.
It found that 50% of voters in the UK agree with the statement, just 11% disagree and a further 29% neither agree nor disagree. It also found that even Tory voters are more likely to agree than disagree.
It comes amid an ongoing row over lobbying in Westminster, with widespread concern about informal contacts and lobbying between the Tory government and businesses.
Fergus Mutch (below), the SNP's candidate for Aberdeenshire West, said the revelations that continue to emerge about the Tory party demand a "comprehensive inquiry".
Mutch said: “This poll clearly highlights that people across the UK are seeing the Tories for what they are.
“Whether it’s the current Greensill scandal, Covid contracts for cronies, donations for decorating, or texts for tax breaks - a culture of sleaze is engulfing Westminster.
“Boris Johnson was champing at the bit to conduct an inquiry into his predecessor when revelations about David Cameron came to light. This time he’s got nobody to scapegoat — but the questions continue to stack up and a comprehensive inquiry is needed.
“Scotland can do so much better than this. We have an opportunity next week to choose a different path – a path that doesn’t involve Tory sleaze and cronyism.
“Only by giving both your votes to the SNP on 6 May can we put Scotland’s future in Scotland’s hands.”
READ MORE: Cabinet Secretary tightens rules around second jobs after Greensill scandal
Meanwhile, Sunak has been facing questions about the communications he had with Cameron amid the Greensill lobbying row.
Greensill Capital was allowed access to the UK Government's Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS), before the finance company collapsed, putting millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money and thousands of jobs at risk.
Labour shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds (above) said: “The Prime Minister said he would publish every personal exchange related to Covid contracts – has the Chancellor published his every communication related to Government business on Greensill, including with David Cameron, yes or no?”
replied: “We have actually responded to all the requests that I have been asked and indeed gone above and beyond in providing disclosure.”
He continued: “First of all, I am very happy to co-operate fully and constructively with both the independent Boardman Review and indeed the Treasury Select Committee Inquiry, and those processes have begun.”
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