Right wing and Left wing – How hypocrisy differs

Right wing and Left wing – how do the Right keep getting away with it?

It was May 30, 2024. Donald Trump was found guilty on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in a hush-money case. A jury had convicted him. Yet by January 2025, he was sentenced only to an unconditional discharge—no prison time, no fine, no probation. He stands legally as a convicted felon. The Guardian

Meanwhile in the UK, Nigel Farage’s tax-avoidance arrangements, use of personal companies, and property purchase via his partner have drawn sharp criticism for appearing unfair, even if technically legal. Yet, he remains a force in polls, speaking to large segments of the public—many of whom seem undisturbed by allegations the left would likely never survive intact under.

Thesis: Recent cases reveal an asymmetry in political accountability: right-wing politicians often survive serious scandals that would likely sink their left-wing counterparts, because of fundamental differences in voter psychology, media ecosystems, and moral expectations.

Case Study: Trump & Polling after the Conviction

• Trump was convicted of 34 counts in May 2024. The Guardian

• A poll by ABC News / Ipsos after the verdict showed that while a majority believe the verdict was correct, his favourability rating was essentially unchanged from before. Ipsos

• In Politico’s poll, 38 % said the conviction made no difference to whether they’d support Trump; 33 % said less likely; 17 % more likely. Among independents, 32 % said less likely; only about 12 % said more likely. Politico

• YouGov’s snap poll found that although around 50 % approved of the verdict, about 80 % of respondents said it had not changed their mind about the election. YouGov

All this shows major legal wrongdoing and even criminal conviction yields, so far, only modest poll damage for many in the right-wing camp, especially among core supporters or in polarized settings.

Case Study: Hypocrisy on the Left

• Jeremy Corbyn had committed to demanding transparency over gender pay gaps for all employers. But when asked to do so for his own senior team, he initially did not set a date, despite reports of a 25-30% gap between men and women in similar roles in his office. This provoked criticism and was widely reported. Telegraph

• His maximum wage proposal was floated but poorly received in polling; more people opposed than supported such limits. After backlash, he scaled back or withdrew parts of the proposal. Vox

These examples show that when left-wing politicians are seen to fail their own standards of fairness, equality or transparency — which are central to their brand — the damage tends to stick. Their base, their media, and institutional actors often react strongly, and policy reversals ensue.

Why the Asymmetry

• Value Identity: Right-wing identities often emphasise loyalty, tradition, distrust of elites. If right-wing politicians are accused of wrongdoing, many supporters feel this is either expected, exaggerated, or part of a fight with corrupt institutions. For left-wing voters, moral consistency and institutional trust are larger parts of the package.

• Media Ecosystems & Framing: Right-wing media or sympathetic outlets may downplay scandals, insist the allegations are politicised, or dismiss legal findings. Left-wing media tend to foreground hypocrisy, especially when it involves fairness, equality, or policy promises. The scale of outrage differs.

• Differences in Institutional Trust and Expectations: Left-wing politics often leans on promises of transparency, regulatory fairness, equality before law. When those are compromised, trust is seen violated. Supporters expect left politicians to obey higher standards. Right-wing politicians are often judged more by perceived opposition success, nationalism, “standing up” than by personal ethics.

Empirical Contrast & Gaps

• The Trump polls show that despite felony convictions, many of his supporters and a large portion of the general public are unmoved. Ipsos+2Politico+2

• There are relatively fewer large recent polling examples showing left-wing politicians suffering similar resilience under major scandals — that itself is telling.

Sharper Solutions

To shift the balance so that hypocrisy does carry cost more equally, here are more specific actions:

1. Mandatory disclosure laws with enforcement

   • Laws that require politicians to publish full tax returns, income, potential conflicts of interest, property ownership, etc.

   • Penalties for non-compliance (not just reputational, but legal or financial).

2. Independent oversight / ethics commissions

   • Bodies with real authority (not just advisory) to investigate wrongdoing, impose sanctions.

   • Maybe a US or UK style office of ethics with power over enforcement, not just naming and shaming.

3. Media and platforms accountability

   • Fact-checking embedded into major media outlets, with consequences for repeated falsehoods.

   • Social media platforms, broadcasters, etc., held to higher standards about what constitutes misinformation, or misleading framing.

4. Voter education & democracy tech

   • Civic education programmes that teach what legal findings (civil vs criminal, felony vs misdemeanor) mean in practice.

   • Tools/apps or platforms that highlight track records of representatives, including scandals, to give voters accessible summaries.

5. Electoral reforms / incentives

   • Making primary processes or party internal democracy more robust (so parties have more incentive to punish hypocrisy).

   • Possibly legal or financial consequences for parties who repeatedly allow clearly unethical behaviour (e.g. funding, threshold rules).

Conclusion & Call to Action

Right wing and left wing are not symmetric camps when it comes to how hypocrisy is handled politically. The conviction of Donald Trump as a felon, the relatively modest damage in polls, Nigel Farage’s arrangements, versus left-wing figures being punished more severely for even smaller breaches of consistency — these show accountability is uneven.

If democracy is to mean anything real, the threshold at which public actions and promises are treated as binding must be raised, not only for left wing but for right wing too. Voters, media, and institutions must demand this: do not excuse wrongdoing simply because you like a politician’s message.

My prediction: unless reforms kick in, right-wing politicians will continue to weather scandals better than left-wing ones. And unless voters change how they think about trust and consistency, the asymmetry will become more entrenched.