Think of the most Tory scandal you could commit. Now double it. Whilst the entire country sat down to watch the daily Downing Street briefings regarding the coronavirus, little did we know that behind the scenes, the government were throwing party after party.So far there have been 17 accounts of civil servants and mayoral candidates breaking their own rules to throw ‘casual’ leaving drinks and ‘cheese and wine’ garden parties.
The parties at Downing Street are possibly the worst of Boris Johnson’s wrongdoings. Hypocrisy, two-facedness, and pietism seem to be major values that the prime minister lives by. What adds more salt to the wound is the millions of people across the country who couldn’t see their family and friends, or couldn’t be beside their dying relatives during the times of the lockdown. Compared to Johnson, Theresa May and David Cameron’s shortfalls don’t look so bad. Previously, David Cameron had resigned after the country decided to leave the European Union as opposed to his own opinion. Johnson’s predecessor, Theresa May, had quit after failing to pass the Brexit Withdrawal trade agreement. The current PM has numerous scandals behind him, with arguably the worst of ‘partygate’ being the rager held the night before Prince Phillip’s funeral. Yet despite all this, Boris Johnson does not know that it is his time to go. He simply must be pushed out of his seat, bringing a victorious end (to the people) to a scummy reign.
Unsurprisingly, the Tory party’s declining popularity has meant that they have fallen 10 points in opinion polls behind Labour following ‘partygate’. Johnson’s original arrival as Tory leader seemed to most voters as an asset, yet now he seems to be a liability. Most previous Tory scandals seemed to brush over people’s heads, but when one commits a scandal so personal, humiliating and frankly insulting to the public, it is their duty to step down. For Boris Johnson, his next step should be resignation.
The latest revelation is Johnson’s own birthday party. However, according to the Tories, this was barely a party because there were only 10 people present and the PM was present for just 10 minutes. The Tories have always wanted to correct the facts and dismiss the principles themselves. Never-mind it being a party or a gathering, the coronavirus rules at the time of the party was that no more than two households of up to six people could meet indoors at any one time. This meant that people were missing weddings, funerals, and quality family time. There was no time for families to cherish their vulnerable relatives. However, no matter how sad the story is, Johnson doesn’t have a single sympathetic bone. If he wants to do anything right, then he needs to follow the exit of his predecessors and resign before the country gets any worse.
Of course, though, it’s not that simple. Without the publication of Sue Gray’s full report, MPs won’t submit a letter of no confidence. Even then, if enough MPs don’t submit a letter, then this scandal, along with the others, will be brushed over the heads of the public, enough so that before the start of the next electoral campaign, we would have forgotten about it. Had there been normal circumstances, Johnson’s shenanigans would have been overlooked by the public. However, when you make the rules and fine people extortionate amounts of money for breaking them, the least you could do is follow the rules yourself. The trouble with sensationalising every single scandal is the immunity that it creates with the public. Yet, the public aren’t the same as before. There are not as many protests or uproars, just simply angry tweets which don’t add to investigation
In the coming weeks there will be more revelations, more scandals and more rule breaking. For his own sake, Johnson needs to step down or even better, leave the world of politics for good. Right now, he’s living in his own bubble of apple-polishers and people pleasers. What he doesn’t realise is that his own voters are now against him, and so the entire country too.
