You look at the picture above, the brazen normality with which this thing is received, and you realise just how far our so-called democracy has eroded. A candidate sends his potential voters money in the form of a petrol voucher to encourage them to vote for him.

This is not just pathetic. It’s not just illegal. It’s undemocratic. And it is an implicit indictment of our institutions, particularly the police, who are doing nothing about this.