If Boris Johnson had any hope of defeating the media persecution over his alleged lockdown breaches, it’s fair to say he may well be heading towards the end.
The PM has been riding a difficult wave on a surfboard just like his speeches – wibbly, wobbly and lacking in substance.
Mr Johnson stuttered and stumbled his way through a tame apology ahead of Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) on January 12.
“I want to apologise.
“I know that millions of people across this country have made extraordinary sacrifices over the last 18 months.
“I know the anguish they have been through – unable to mourn their relatives, unable to live their lives as they want or to do the things they love.
“I know the rage they feel with me and with the government I lead when they think in Downing Street itself the rules are not being properly followed by the people who make the rules.
“And though I cannot anticipate the conclusions of the current inquiry, I have learned enough to know there were things we simply did not get right and I must take responsibility.”
Mr Johnson’s alleged activities during lockdown – including a ‘Bring Your Own Booze’ garden party as well as attending a ‘virtual’ Christmas celebration – means he has lost the support of the public, lost the support of his own MPs, and signs show he may also be losing the support of his Cabinet.
A poll by YouGov and Sky News run between December 30 and January 6 found a staggering 34% of 1005 Tory Party members believe it is time for Boris to stand down and allow someone else to take over; a majority, however, still think the Prime Minister is fit for office.
The same poll found that a quarter of new party members think time is up for the PM and it comes at an increasingly precarious time for the Conservative Party.
To add further insult to injury, a poll by YouGov for The Times – conducted before the PM’s apology – suggests Labour support is 38% (+1), Conservatives 28% (-5) and Lib Dems 13% (+3).
Constant rhetoric of stating we must wait for Sue Grey’s report is proving tiresome with the British public. It appears clear to all that the former Mayor of London has – at some point and to some extent – broken his own coronavirus regulations. Yet the Prime Minister is stumbling along as though nothing has happened.
It is understandable to hear the complaints of those who had £10,000 fines dished out for breaches of covid rules during lockdowns when it appears the UK’s top political figure was also not making any sacrifices.
But this does not mean that those fines – including a maximum fine being handed to a University of Nottingham student for a party held in October 2020 – should simply be waived, forgotten about, and refunded.
Look at it with a different scenario. If the head of the police force was to commit a murder, we wouldn’t expect all other convicted murderers to be released from prison.
Justice is a concept on ethics and law that means that people behave in a way that is fair, equal and balanced for everyone – this includes everyone from university students to those in positions of a higher power.
In this case, justice would be for them all to face the same punishment.
If Sue Gray’s report proves that the Prime Minister did attend gatherings that broke lockdown rules in place at the respective times, then justice will only be served if Boris Johnson faces disciplinary sanctions himself.
After all, he even admitted in December 2021 that “if rules were broken then there will be disciplinary action for all those involved.” That declaration could come back to bite him in the near future if Ms Gray’s report is to be critical of the PM and his actions.
The fines – of which more than 1,600 were handed out by Nottinghamshire Police during a four-month spell starting in October 2021 – do not appear on a criminal record, but could appear on a local police force’s records for the individual concerned.
So whilst there is a huge financial cost to the students who have breached rules, they have at the end of the day broken the law and justice should therefore be served.
If Ms Gray’s report proves that the Prime Minister has broken his own laws, then he should resign from his position for having misled Parliament but should also face the same punishment as any students who broke the same rules.
Tory MPs up and down the benches of the House of Commons will no doubt have been writing to the infamously cut-throat 1922 Committee declaring their lack of confidence in the PM. If the golden number of 54 letters is reached, the British public may not need to wait for Sue Gray’s report before seeing whether Mr Johnson will be removed from his post.
This is an opinion piece and the author’s views do not necessarily reflect the views of Platform Magazine.