Corruption in the United Kingdom

Corruption in the United Kingdom is generally low compared to most nations, though problems persist. Transparency International's 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index scored the United Kingdom at 71, but 2025 scored 70 on a scale from 0 ("highly corrupt") to 100 ("very clean") - its lowest ever score.[1] When ranked by score, the United Kingdom ranked 20th among the 180 countries in the Index, where the country ranked first is perceived to have the most honest public sector.[2] The United Kingdom's highest ever score was 82 in 2017, placing it in 8th position.[3] Its highest position was 7th, during the years 2014-16 (with scores of 78, 81 and 81, respectively).[3] It left the top ten rankings in 2018 (score 80; 11th position) and entered 20th position in 2023 (scoring 71),[3] a fall of nine places in two years and its lowest ever ranking.[4][3]

For comparison with regional scores, the best score in 2025 among Western European and European Union countries[Note 1] was 90, the average score was 64 and the worst score was 41.[5] For comparison with worldwide scores, the best score was 90 (ranked 1), the average score was 43, and the worst score was 8 (ranked 180).[6]

The United Kingdom's 2025 drop to its lowest ever score of 70 was attributed by Transparency International to political donors receiving favours, Members of Parliament acting as lobbyists, and the Epstein-Mandelson controversy.[1][7] Transparency International raised concerns about record political campaign spending, reliance on wealthy benefactors, and allegations of cash for access arrangements.[1][7] Along with the Epstein-Mandelson scandal, specifically mentioned by Transparency International were the Conservatives accepting £15m from a single donor in less than 12 months (understood to be a reference to donations from Frank Hester), Elon Musk considering making a $100m donation to Reform UK, and Waheed Alli, Labour's biggest donor, receiving a privileged pass to the Prime Minister.[8]

The United Kingdom currently has numerous laws that punish civil servants for bribery and other forms of corruption, with the Bribery Act 2010 currently the most relevant.[9] There has also been criticism from newspaper columnists.[10][11] This has largely been because of the UK's fall from the top 10 in the CPI.[12][13][14]

The Bribery Act 2010 is currently the most relevant law in the United Kingdom that punishes public and private bribery. The law does not make any distinction in sentencing between those who bribe (or are bribed) in the public or private sector.[9]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom

References

  1. ^ a b c Evans, Holly (10 February 2026). "UK sinks to new low on global corruption index – here's why". The Independent. Retrieved 27 February 2026.
  2. ^ "The ABCs of the CPI: How the Corruption Perceptions Index is calculated". Transparency.org. 11 February 2025. Retrieved 7 April 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d "UK remains at record low in Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) for the second consecutive year | Transparency International UK". www.transparency.org.uk. 10 February 2025. Retrieved 27 February 2026.
  4. ^ Elton, Lottie (30 January 2024). "UK is seen as more corrupt than ever, according to corruption index". Big Issue. Retrieved 27 February 2026.
  5. ^ Cresswell, Flora; Prokic, Lidija; Myrzabekova, Altynai (11 February 2025). "CPI 2024 for Western Europe & EU: Leaders' hollow efforts cause worsening corruption levels". Transparency.org. Retrieved 7 April 2025.
  6. ^ "Corruption Perceptions Index 2024: United Kingdom". Transparency.org. 11 February 2025. Retrieved 7 April 2025.
  7. ^ a b Evans, Holly (10 February 2026). "UK falls to new low on corruption scale over party donations and Epstein scandals". The Independent. Retrieved 27 February 2026.
  8. ^ Davies, Rob (10 February 2026). "UK and US sink to new lows in global index of corruption". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 February 2026.
  9. ^ a b Country Review Report of the United Kingdom (PDF). United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. 2013. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 12, 2017.
  10. ^ Monbiot, George (2020-09-10). "If you think the UK isn't corrupt, you haven't looked hard enough". The Guardian. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
  11. ^ "We need to talk about corruption in the UK". www.newstatesman.com. 27 January 2020. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
  12. ^ Binham, Caroline. "UK drops out of top 10 in global anti-corruption rankings". Financial Times. Archived from the original on November 1, 2020. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
  13. ^ Millard, Rachel (2020-01-23). "UK takes one step down in global corruption rankings". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
  14. ^ Hope, Christopher. "Transparency International's 2009 corruption index: the full ranking of 180 countries". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2021-01-27.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.