MANY unresolved issues are left over from the 2011 financial crash. RBS shareholders still await recompense and justice. They understandably question why the financial recklessness of big name bankers has yet to result in prosecutions. There is of course no mystery. The wealthy and well connected are rarely held accountable.

The Queen of Mean, Leona Hemsley, put it in a nutshell: “Only the little people pay taxes”. Unwisely fiddle a few pounds in benefits and court beckons. Recklessly cost the taxpayer billions and you’ll still skulk away with a pension that dwarfs the lifetime earnings of most little people.

The crash arose through recklessness, greed and the pursuit of riches that was neither earned nor deserved. Politicians, however, were also culpable and have never been properly held to account. Through deregulation they created the myth of the masters of the universe who proved as insubstantial as the Wizard of Oz. Lord Mandelson had no problems with the filthy rich, irrespective of the source or morality of their wealth.

Politicians argue they are ultimately accountable to their electorate. Certainly, electoral defeat results in the loss of a seat in the Commons. Yet the vanquished and the failed still walk away with a golden goodbye and a decent pension. There might even be the consolation of a place in the Lords, membership of a quango or a boardroom sinecure.

The question is, does electoral defeat represent sufficient accountability for unacceptably reckless and unprincipled conduct? Several years ago, the captain of the Costa Concordia cruise ship faced prosecution and imprisonment for recklessly sailing too near rocks. He abandoned his ship, leaving passengers and crew to their fate.

For some inexplicable reason, the Costa Concordia brings former prime minister David Cameron to mind. The unfortunate Captain Schettino received a 16-year sentence for sinking and abandoning his ship. Mr Cameron navigated the ship of state on to the rocks in the name of political expediency. Like Capt Schettino, Mr Cameron took to the boats and left the rest of us to it. The similarity ends there. Mr Cameron’s continuing self-enrichment ensures he is well and truly in the lifeboat.

Political life is debased by the systemic culture of lies and half-truths. Politicians can be forgiven for genuine errors and misjudgements. We all make mistakes, but what we see at present is something totally different. Out and out lying has become part of political discourse. The public is protected by consumer and fraud legislation from dishonest sales and trade practices. Unfortunately, the probity of the political world is unregulated.

The continuing Brexit fiasco underlines the cynicism and lack of integrity in public life. Neither referendum campaign was immune from claims that were putting it kindly, improbable. It is however, whoppers like the £350 million per week for the NHS that stick in the mind. As does Liam Fox’s fantasy that reaching an agreement with the EU would be “one of the easiest deals in human history”.

This can’t be accepted with a shrug as just part of the hurly burly of politics. The mix of exaggeration, half-truths and downright lies is on the verge of destroying businesses and lives.

I have a friend who, through hard work and ingenuity, has built up a thriving business. Much of what he produces is sold within the EU. He has now received a letter from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs warning that “we must prepare for leaving without a deal” and if so, his product “will not be marketable within the EU”. So much for the easiest deal in human history.

The current shambles is largely due to the lack of accountability and integrity in political life. Politicians believe unsubstantiated statements and predictions can be made with impunity. The damnable thing is, they’re right. In the real world regulators and the law deal with false claims and dishonest advertising. Why not politics? £350 million for the NHS? I rest my case.

Surely it can’t be that difficult to extend consumer protection to the world of politics. Court appearances, eye-watering fines and prison sentences for repeat offenders would concentrate the minds of manifesto and speech writers. Who knows, prime ministers might even think more carefully before calling a referendum.