I’d rather they did it to women than to Britain

Our enraged media seem – or, more precisely, pretend – to demand unrealistically high moral standards from politicians. And our brainwashed masses gleefully gobble up stories about who put his hand on whose knee 30 years ago.

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon, 65, resigned yesterday, explaining that his past behaviour had “fallen below the high standards we require of the Armed Forces”. He then attached a temporal aspect to morality by adding that “what might have been acceptable 15, 10 years ago is clearly not acceptable now”.

Since the Armed Forces aren’t universally known for their monastic behaviour, it’s unclear what those expected high standards are. And suggesting that morality changes every few years is tantamount to saying that no morality exists.

I for one don’t care if Mr Fallon (or any other politician) indulges in a bit of unauthorised hanky-panky, provided it’s of a boorish rather than criminal nature. What I do care about is his performance as Defence Secretary.

On that basis, I’m sorry to see him go: by the puny standards of our political life, Mr Fallon isn’t bad at all. But these days that’s hardly the point, is it?

We shouldn’t expect our politicians to be little angels. But we do have every right to expect them to be statesmen possessing the mind, courage and integrity to serve their country. Us, in other words.

It’s those expectations that most of them consistently frustrate – so consistently, in fact, that no one in his right mind can have such lofty expectations any longer. But forget about lofty.

At the lowest, most basic level we still should be able to expect our politicians to do their best in the interests of Her Majesty’s realm. Or, if that’s too much to ask, at least that they shouldn’t act treasonously.

This brings us to the recent Brussels jaunt undertaken by former LibDem leader Nick Clegg, Labour peer Andrew Adonis and Tory backbencher Ken Clarke. What they did was definitely unethical, and in any sane country it would be illegal.

These cross-party spivs are fanatical Remainers, and they’re entitled to such views, much as I find them ridiculous. Moreover, they’re entitled to express their views in whatever medium they can reach: the Commons for Mr Clarke, the Lords for Lord Adonis and presumably any old street corner for Mr Clegg, who couldn’t even hold on to his parliamentary seat at the last election.

And of course they can all mouth their drivel to the press, provided the press wants to hear their sour-grapes animadversions. What they absolutely have no right to do is conspire with foreign powers against their own government.

Their typically mendacious denials to the contrary, their meeting with the EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier and commissioner for economic affairs Pierre Moscovici had sinister undertones.

The three spivs joined forces with the EU trying to subvert the policy of the British government, not to mention the will of the British people. One doesn’t have to be a fly on the wall to surmise that the co-conspirators plotted ways to punish Britain so badly that a second referendum would become a reality.

Just think about it: our politicians are colluding with foreigners who wish to do us harm. They want their own people to suffer the better to uphold an ideology the people have rejected. Does this sound like Britain to you?

My friend, MEP Gerard Batten, was absolutely right when saying that: “Having them go to Brussels is like Oswald Mosely and Lord Haw-Haw going to Berlin to negotiate peace terms in 1940”. Gerard could have added that Mosley spent three years in prison, while the Nazi propagandist William Joyce (‘Lord Haw-Haw’) was hanged after the war.

Conspiring with a foreign power against one’s own country has been everywhere treated as high treason since the time God was young. Yet, though this outrage has received some coverage in the press, it was never front-page news. And no one talked about it the next day.

This goes to show how deeply corrupted our whole society is, how warped our notions of morality. Sputtering, on cue, obedient fury at sexual indiscretions comes to us more easily than calling treason by its right name.

Underhanded collusion with foreign governments against our own doesn’t excite our imagination as much as a hand on someone’s knee does. Salacious, voyeuristic, sanctimonious accounts fill our papers, TV screens – and minds. We aren’t even immoral any longer; we’re downright amoral.

If this weren’t the case, that little caper by the trio of spivs would cause a universal outburst of indignation – this irrespective of which side of the Brexit divide our sympathies lie. In a world with morality still extant, people would know to remain loyal to their country even if they disagreed with some of its policies.

I’m holding my hand to my ear straining to hear thunderous demands for prosecuting the three EU stooges. But I’m not holding my breath.

And now, by all means, let’s talk about the really interesting stuff. Do you think Fallon actually bonked her?