The Prime Minister is taking the British public for fools.
At Prime Minister’s Questions this week, Boris Johnson admitted he attended a party in Downing Street at the height of the first Covid-19 lockdown. He broke the rules. Rules his Government imposed on the country but failed to follow themselves. It is unforgivable and points to a pattern of behaviour under the Conservatives where it is one rule for them and one rule for everyone else.
From the Prime Minister’s closest advisor driving to Barnard Castle to test his eyesight, the then Health Secretary breaking social distancing guidelines at work and since early December, revelations about several lockdown-breaking parties and gatherings in Downing Street have now emerged, with videos of those who attended laughing and joking about covering them up.
Many constituents have contacted me about this issue, and I share their anger. While people across Enfield Southgate grieved via Zoom, followed the rules and made incredible sacrifices to save lives, the Prime Minister and his staff threw an illegal lockdown party.
As this latest scandal emerged, my thoughts again turned to the bereaved families and those who have lost loved ones to this terrible virus.
I have met with the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice on a number of occasions, most recently in September 2021 where I joined families walking the length of the Covid-19 Memorial Wall in Westminster. The human cost of Covid-19 has been appalling, and while the Prime Minster hosted a ‘BYOB’ party in Downing Street to “make the most of the lovely weather”, 496 people died from Covid-19 in Enfield in 2020.
Indeed, when people sacrificed so much to follow the rules, the Prime Minister decided he was above them. That is why I support calls for Boris Johnson to resign. The party is over. We cannot have a Prime Minister who treats the British public with contempt, a Prime Minister who partied while people died.
More widely, as the NHS faces a difficult winter, it is crucial that everyone follows the rules to protect each other. Our success in tackling Covid-19 ultimately rests on people’s willingness to comply with the rules, which in turn relies on confidence in the people making the rules. While the Government has undermined public trust and distracted from key public health messaging, people in Enfield Southgate continue to show incredible resilience and I have no doubt we will continue to protect each other and stay safe.
