We pay them to lie to us

We are informed that public spending on spin doctors has increased three-fold under this Government. Not that I am surprised, or anything. However, this massive spending spree seems to have had the opposite effect of whatever it was intended to produce. Public cynicism in politics and politicians has grown over the past ten years. In fact, the latest yougov poll for the Daily Telegraph indicates that a significant number of voters are forsaking the three main political parties in favour of the smaller ones. And who can blame them?

At the heart of the spin culture lies the issue of trust. Most of the time, politicians do not trust us with the truth. Either that, or they dare not tell us the truth. Hence the need for this army of conjurers. We, in turn, do not trust politicians. Consider for example, the recent loans-for-peerages scandal. The Government's response was to float the idea of getting the taxpayer to fund political parties, an idea shamelessly supported by the Conservative Party leadership. Why should we trust such a bunch of self-serving individuals?

Today's news would have been amusing if it weren't for the fact that the spin bill is being paid by the taxpayer. Yes, they lie to us, and we pay them for it.