Saturday evening and a party in the Potter-esque surroundings of Middle Temple Hall. An inadvertent but fascinating conversation with one of ‘our people’ from the FCO - and her exploration of the thought (alongside a sadly inevitable but entirely predictable throwaway comment on the undue influence of  AIPAC on US foreign policy) that the political elite of modern America has been touched as deeply by Sarbanes Oxley as by the tragedy of 9/11. This on the day that David Cameron had called for greater ‘Transparency’ from our politicians - as though Transparency was a sudden luxury (or an awakening ) and not a mandatory political behaviour. For those of us in business, Transparency, today, is everything.

The recent Edelman Trust Barometer reaffirms that Trust in Business holds steady (and is on the rise in BRIC countries), while Trust in Politicians  continues to erode and/ or work off a fairly low base. Are we surprised? The Digital Age and the relatively new accountability of the Web means that businesses and business people live in a working world of constant exposure - vulnerable (or accessible, depending on your point of view) to the demands of consumers and shareholders alike. We, in business, are the first to learn what it is truly like to live in a more open Citizen Economy - while our politicians merely seek re-election every four years unless a scandal intervenes. Added to this, our (UK) Constituency system makes it more opaque to understand where political accountability really lies - we see occasional de-selections and interviews with the outraged man and woman in the street but, utlimately, it is invariably the party leader who decides that a Hain or a Conway has to go, unless we get to have our say when an election is called at the whim - or mercy - of that same Leader. Our politicians’ accountability is at best occasional and mostly fluctuating and transient. It is rarely daily and never immediate.

Politicians have much to learn from Business but, as Patience Wheatcroft (see earlier posts) commented a fortnight or so ago, not necessarily by cosying up to CEOs and Executive Chairmen. Taking  a few grand (led alone £100k plus) in less than open circumstances would lead to our instant dismissal - or have shareholders and employees rightly baying for blood. What is it about our political system that allows us to even consider, for a moment, that ‘forgetfulness’ or ‘being too busy/ too disorganised’ is an adequate excuse? Those who often legislate for business should surely look first to themselves. A wholesale overhaul of our political system, starting with the funding issue but extending immediately towards proper Proportional Representation, is long, long overdue. Transparency (and proper Accountability) is not a soundbite, Mr Cameron, it is an urgent and absolute need.