From my article in The Sunday Times today:
“The thing with political favours is that people who are happy to sell their vote will negotiate to acquire from the politician, in exchange for their currency and commitment, what they wouldn’t be able to acquire by right anyway. Electoral clientelism is not about making sure that constituents’ rights are protected or that voters are helped to get what they’re due. The promise of an unearned vote is made for a reward that cannot be secured otherwise. This is the true horror of this benefit fraud story. It is really electoral fraud.”