Opinion: The Great Betrayal

Following the revelations of Partygate, it would come as a surprise to no one that Boris Johnson, and many members of the cabinet had acted criminally and broke the laws that they set down and presided over, in the interest of the masses. Today, both Johnson and Rishi Sunak have received Fixed Penalty Notices over this.

 

They certainly will not be the first MPs to receive FPNs, as they can be given for anything as minor as a parking fine, but the principle behind theirs' goes into the stratosphere beyond a parking fine. Back in December when there were first rumours of Downing Street parties, Johnson comfortably denied the rumours with little proof against him, and could rely on that to fall back on, when pictures were released he fell back on the imminent arrival of the Sue Gray report, and when that was released (albeit in a partial form) he fell back on the investigation of the Metropolitan police. Clearly, with the situation in Ukraine holding political discourse by the scruff of its neck, Johnson had a break. But, with both himself and Sunak receiving fines he has ran out of room to fall back on, and all he has left is his tried and tested method of not taking accountability. No matter the controversy he lands himself in, throughout his career he has always managed to weasel his way out of situations that frame him in a bad light by either throwing someone else under the bus, lying about the situation, or just somehow dodging the issue and highlighting what he has done well, in his eyes, in the hope that people will congratulate him. Point in question: Partygate. He allowed Allegra Stratton to be utterly tarnished in her career with zero defence, despite her relative non-involvement in the whole situation. Until there was evidence to prove the contrary, he would lie his way out of party accusations, living on a prayer that he would have bought enough faith in his circles of deciet for evidence not to be seen. On top of all of this, his go to response always involved downplaying his parties, criticising Keir Starmer as 'Captain Hindsight,' whilst rattling off how much worse the country would have been, had the former DPP been Prime Minister, and then proceeding to big up the vaccine rollout and the country's economic recovery.

 

This brings us up to speed to today. Johnson is issued with a fine. He takes to Television to give a half-hearted apology, but with no offer of a resignation. This is a defining moment in how an elected official has taken the British people for fools. He has insulted our intelligence time and time again. Any other PM with even a fraction of moral decency would have resigned instantly on breaking the rules that they set down so frequently. On top of this, he persists in argument that he 'didn't know' that the birthday party set up for him in Downing Street was a party. This proves that he is either- too dense to recognise a party when it is right in front of him in his own home, in which case he is not fit to be Prime Minister. Alternatively, it makes him a liar, in which case he is not fit to be Prime Minister. The apology itself had the sincerity of concrete, homed in by his constant reference to the script written for him, which even made its way into shot in the closing seconds. It is nothing short of insulting that the man we put democratic trust into as a nation doesn't even have the guts nor the courtesy to stand up and apologise from the heart.

 

Following the uncovering of the side of Sunak the party didn't want anyone to see, this couldn't have come at a worse time for the Chancellor- but he deserves everything that comes his way in the same vein that Johnson does. Rishi always played the 'Good Guy' within the party, who would distance himself from party scandals such as Partygate, bathing in the popularity that hung over him from his economic policies such as Furlough. But no, it was all an act. Everyone knew that his wife was born into sheer wealth, but the extent was only revealed in the last week, especially due to her Non-Dom status. But this all adds to the problem of the Tory party being vastly out of touch. They prayed on the fact that people would see them as they did in 2019 as populists with the view of the people at heart, but that image has been left to rot, and the 'Tax Cutting Chancellor' has been central to this death and betrayal of voters nationwide.

 

The feeble charlatans leading the country are the very bottom of the barrel. While the country followed their rules to protect others, they partied in teenage gracelessness with an ever diminishing grip on the reality they see as optional. Pensioners are having to ride around on buses using their bus passes all day so they can keep warm when they can't afford to heat their homes, millions of families across the country are having to decide between food and heat, and people are wrapping up in heated blankets to keep warm as they can't afford to put the heating on. Meanwhile, our Government shows no remorse with smug, meaningless apologies. The Government preside over some Fugazi economic prosperity, while many of us suffer the Cost of Living Crisis in silence, because they are running out of road and are too spineless to hold themselves accountable.