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Opinion: The Downing Street Party Scandal- Here We Go Again...

Opinion: The Downing Street Party Scandal- Here We Go Again...


9/12/21

After a year dominated by Greensill Capital, COVID Contracts, Downing Street Flat Refurbishments, Cash for Honours and deleted WhatsApp Messages, the British public could almost take solice in the fact that the scandal season was over and going into the international break. But how wrong we all were.

On the 18th December 2020, London was in Tier 3 of COVID restrictions. No socialising, no hospitality. Christmas? All but cancelled. Not for those in 10 Downing Street, however. Several dozen Civil Servants and Downing Street staff attending this illegal party. You would be forgiven for thinking that it may have just been a spontaneous- but there was a Secret Santa. It was planned. Alongside this, there was a selction of wine and cheese put on, in a period when no Londoner could even go to the pub. But it wasn't exclusive to this- with The Times now reporting that there were up to seven Tory parties.    

This was all under wraps until last week, when it was revealed that it did in fact happen. However, the signature Tory display of being utterly useless came yesterday. After a video was uncovered of Allegra Stratton laughing over a question in a mock press briefing over the party, the country was in uproar. To me, Wednesday the 8th of December had three very distinct periods. Firstly the morning: Twitter became a warzone. James O'Brien's phone-in on LBC was full of callers quite rightly outraged. One caller was a Magistrate from Sheffield, attesting that the claim from the Metropolitan Police that they don't investigate crimes retrospectively from a year ago was utter nonsence, especially considering that he is dealing with cases in Court over lockdown breaches 12 months ago. James' quote 'Any hopes they may have with the benefit of hindsight will realise this is no laughing matter' perfectly sums it up. A morning quite rightly to be outraged by the representatives we elect into power.

Lunchtime. Boris Johnson looking deathly ill at Prime Minister's Questions. An utter embarassment for Johnson. No sincere apology, no remorse and no respect. Keir Starmer scored a few easy goals against the Prime Minister, with the apprentice Police Officer coming back with the same response that was devised from the following formula - 'Errr well errm I can wholeheartedly say err it didn't happen and errrrrm the Right Honourable Gentleman is playing politics.' However, Keir's finest moment came with his put down of the Prime Minister by saying 'The British people put the health of other people first and followed the rules. Is the Prime Minister ashamed that his Downing Street couldn't do the same.' One of Johnson's worst PMQs yet but still, somehow he gets away with it.

Evening. Johnson, Chris Whitty and Patrick Vallance hold a COVID press confrence. A man we trust to run the country turns up to a 6 o'clock briefing over 5 minutes late. Looking like he'd been taken straight out of a wind tunnel, Johnson bumbles over the simple points about wearing masks and mandatory NHS COVID passes. This clearly wasn't plan B because Omicron was out of control- this government don't react to new variants that quickly. No, this was just to distract the media headlines away from them being charlatans who can't follow the rules they set down. But it didn't exactly go to plan. Even the Telegraph and Daily Mail have headlines focusing on the hippocracy of creating new rules after a scandal emerges of not following old ones.

This is just a clear cut example of why this government can not be trusted. Labour are back ahead in the polls, and after this- surely this is their best chance of staying up there. A government that betrays its people is not a government. It is a tyranny. As the Manic Street Preachers said- 'If you tolerate this then your children will be next.'

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