The pressure on Boris Johnson is increasing. Reports of another government party in lockdown show more and more clearly: The British prime minister is not sticking to his own rules.
Another day on Downing Street – and another part from the series “Things Boris Johnson would have preferred to leave in lockdown”. The British Prime Minister had to meekly admit that some of his closest employees had held a Christmas party last year despite strict Corona measures. Now new media reports reveal that Johnson was a guest at another party in the first lockdown.
A group of 20 employees is said to have enjoyed themselves on May 15, 2020 after a press conference with wine and pizza in the garden on Downing Street. According to joint research by the British newspapers “” and “”, the prime minister himself is said to have stayed for about a quarter of an hour. He said people deserved a drink because they “fought back” the coronavirus. The garden party therefore went on until late at night.
Boris Johnson probably only stayed briefly at the party
Strict contact restrictions still applied throughout Great Britain at the time of the first lockdown. According to the regulations, only two people from different households were allowed to meet outside within two meters. In the early evening of the said garden party, then Minister of Health Matt Hancock had urged the population “to stay at home as much as possible” and asked them to “follow the rules, take care of their families and not take any risks”.
Words that sound cynical when you consider that the Minister of Health himself is said to have joined the “solemn” round on Downing Street just a few hours later.
When confronted with the allegations, Johnson’s spokesman said that employees regularly used the garden for meetings. On that day, after a press conference, the Prime Minister had “a few meetings in the garden, including with the then Minister of Health and his team”. Johnson returned to his residence shortly after 7 p.m., with a small number of employees remaining.
But the lockdown garden party is just the latest in a growing series of reports of rule violations at UK headquarters. In particular, the descriptions of several Christmas parties in the middle of the Corona lockdown last winter caused outrage. Johnson is said to have participated in one as a quiz master himself.
The events made public by the media show that both high-ranking politicians and the prime minister himself may have disregarded their own rules for months.
Clap for Johnson’s Tory stronghold party
The new celebration allegations come at an inopportune time for Johnson. His conservative party has only just experienced a serious setback in a lower house by-election – and that in a Tory stronghold, of all places. In the rural constituency of North Shropshire in Central England, the mandate believed to be safe went to Liberal Democrat Helen Morgan, as it became known on Friday.
Accordingly, Morgan secured 47 percent of the votes and was almost 6000 votes ahead of the conservative candidate. The voters had sent a clear message to Johnson: “The party is over,” said the Liberal Democrat after her election triumph. “Your government, ruled by lies and boasting, will now have to pay the bill.”
The reason for the by-election in North Shropshire also puts the prime minister and his party in a bad light. Because of a lobbying affair, the conservative MP Owen Paterson had to resign after a good 24 years in parliament. Johnson got involved in the affair at the beginning of November and tried to stop disciplinary proceedings against the Tory MP – but then had to back down in view of the outrage in his own ranks.
Premier continues to come under pressure
The election failure against the pro-European Liberal Democrats increases the pressure on the prime minister within the party. Johnson, who was elected two years ago with his Brexit promise, is now facing growing criticism from within his own ranks.
As if that weren’t enough, the highly contagious Omicron variant is currently spreading across the island and causing the number of infections to skyrocket again. More than 88,000 new corona cases were registered on Thursday alone.
After the lockdown parties and alleged rule violations by Johnson and his government, the worsening corona situation could now bring the barrel to overflow. On Tuesday, almost a hundred Tory MPs opposed the head of government by voting against the government’s new corona requirements.
Johnson now has to see to it that he quickly regains confidence and gets the Omikron wave under control. Otherwise the prime minister could get a party revolt this Christmas.
Sources: “”, “”, with AFP material
Source From: Stern
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