What connects airline food and Westminster ethics? Both are oxymorons

Having been caught, he has now agreed to pay more than £3.7 million to settle outstanding taxes. You may recall that tennis star Boris Becker experienced similar difficulties with the taxman – as did the jockey, Lester Piggott. In Becker’s case, he went to prison for two and a half years, while Piggott got a three-year sentence.

In sharp contrast, Zahawi is still at large and, astonishingly, remains a government minister. Indeed, his boss says that the errant minister has “addressed the matter in full” and there’s ­“nothing further to add”.

As a reminder, this is what the clueless PM thinks is addressing the matter in full – Zahawi only paid after ducking the matter for years; ­denying he had any liability; and only after ­being exposed by a top tax lawyer, who was ­improperly threatened by a letter from Zahawi’s lawyers.

Far from settling the matter we ought to ­expect further revelations, if past British ­ministerial morality is any guide.

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Remember too, that Prime Minister ­Rishi ­Sunak on taking office pledged: “This ­government will have integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level”.

Instead, we all see the harsh ­reality. ­“Westminster ethics” is an oxymoron – a ­contradiction in terms – a bit like “airline food”.

This careless UK Government also plans to make it harder to vote, harder to strike, harder to protest. Now, why would they do that? A reasonable person might conclude it is because the UK Government is actually frightened of accountability, integrity, and professionalism. The very qualities they swore to uphold.

Worse, this reckless British administration now plans a “bonfire of European laws” in an act of political vandalism. Hard-earned rights will be lost, many actually initiated by the UK.

Over 3200 laws and regulations will be junked. No MP has the time, and few have the ­inclination, to read through this mass of ­paperwork. The legislation will likely go through on the nod.

One group, however, will be cheering this conflagration of our hard-won freedoms. The extreme right that has taken over the Tories will cheer these moves to the rafters. Fewer ­regulations and safeguards mean public assets are easier to sell to friends and associates.

What of the Labour Party amid all of this ­mayhem?

Some say they have now positioned ­themselves in that part of the political spectrum once ­occupied by the old Tory party. They want to “make Brexit work”. Even the dogs in the street know there is more chance of ­making the Titanic work. And this at a time when a ­majority want another vote on Brexit entirely, according to the polls.

When it comes to Scotland, Labour is also all over the place. Its MSPs are proud of the ­gender recognition legislation recently ­approved by a large majority in the Scottish Parliament. ­Indeed, when asked about the ­behaviour of the Secretary of State for Scotland in overruling ­Holyrood, one Labour MSP ­described Alister Jack as “a viceroy”. To no one’s surprise, its sole MP in Scotland opposed the legislation. ­After a long delay, the Labour leader in ­Scotland ­surfaced to say that he supported both ­positions.

It’s also important to note all of this ­malfeasance and corruption is taking place against a backcloth where ordinary people ­cannot afford to eat and heat their homes. Think what could be afforded if the Zahawi millions, plus the billions of uncollected taxes, were paid to those in need? Our nurses, railway workers and the thousands of others now on strike could at last make ends meet, in this time of raging inflation.

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While chaos reigns at Westminster and ­sensible UK policies are further away than ever, what should Scotland do? There is talk of a “de facto” referendum, though few seem to know what precisely this is or when it might happen.

Here is an idea that I believe has real merit, and that could usefully fill the gap until the next steps are finalised. Let us have a ­Constitutional Convention charged with tabling a draft or ­interim constitution for Scotland based on the sovereignty of the Scottish people.

Put briefly, the Constitutional Convention would welcome representatives of all parties and community groups, taking into account views from across the land. Such a move does not need anyone’s permission and cannot be overruled. We should begin it now.

Professor Laura McAllister is Wednesday’s guest on the TNT show. Join us on Wednesday at 7pm on IndyLive