Morality: the comeback

In these days of the gathering credit crunch consequences and the recession or depression, is it my imagination or is morality coming back into play?

Three instances in a week. The cascade of lords “on the take”, who told a Sunday newspaper they were prepared to influence legislation in return for money, may prompt a change in the rules. But one asks: is such a practice in any case morally acceptable?

Then the bank bonuses. Contractually RBS may think the bonuses probably have to be paid. They are legal. But morally? Can it be moral to take a bonus for failure, as the world’s economic downturn deepens?

And finally, the home secretary’s housing arrangements. She claims her principal home (for expenses purposes) to be her sister’s home in London. Her secondary home is her family home where her husband and children live. It may be legal. But is it defensible to have claimed more than £100,000 on such an arrangement over several years?