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Mind your language

The true meaning of Sadiq Khan’s claims to virtue

The new mayor of London says he’ll be ‘transparent, honest and accessible’. Such terms have an odd way of sliding

14 May 2016

9:00 AM

14 May 2016

9:00 AM

The new Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said he wanted ‘the most transparent, honest and accessible administration London has ever seen’. It sounds lovely, especially if the Underground is cheap too.

Mr Khan’s are a very 21st-century triad of virtues, though honest might sound old-fashioned. It would once have appeared on a housemaid’s reference: ‘Diligent, sober and honest’, i.e.

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