LETTERS Forever cynics
Sir: Lord Hanson believes we are more cyn- ical about politicians than we used to be (`The age of cynicism', 18 May). The evi- dence he gives that this phenomenon is increasing is his own perception and that of a Los Angeles newspaper. But we have always treated our politicians with con- tempt. One thinks — to name but a few — of John Wilkes, Rowlandson and Gil[ray in the 18th century, Trollope in the 19th and The Spectator's own Taper (the young Bernard Levin) more recently. The reason is simple: politicians publicly claim elevated motives while being venal, self-serving and power-hungry. That is, they are human like the rest of us and we don't like them pre- tending otherwise. That's the way it will always be.
One other thing perplexed me about Lord Hanson's article. He held David Frost, Robin Day and Selina Scott up as exemplars. What a strange list. The first is far too chummy with politicians these days, the second is no longer practising and the third has never really troubled the scorers. Give me a Paxman any day of the week and feed him on raw meat before he confronts the politicians too!
Peter Bazalgette
29 Kensington Park Gardens, London W11
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