Populism, scandal management and state-facilitated “covid-corruption” in the United Kingdom

Abstract

The pandemic presented a uniquely unrestricted bonanza in many countries for opportunistic profitmaking at the public expense. In the United Kingdom, this took the form of collusion between senior political figures and business associates in purchasing medical supplies which, allied to the suspension of procurement governance, led to irregular, even fraudulent, contracting practices. Analyses of corruption often stress the combination of system abuses by officials and ill-functioning governance as factors in undermining public trust. Whilst these held true in the case of procurement corruption in the UK, this article focuses on the relationships between populism and de-democratising trends aimed at disarming critical opposition to elite misappropriation and profiteering in the context of a crisis. Operating under the cover of emergency pandemic planning, the UK government presides over historical levels of state-facilitated misappropriation while largely deflecting political accountability or sanction from those responsible.