A massive Tory backbench rebellion is brewing against the new restrictions to curb Omicron and the removal of civil liberties without any supportive evidence or data.
London: In a world where Russia may invade Ukraine, China threatens to invade Taiwan, France sells 80 Rafale warplanes to UAE, the UK Uyghur Tribunal officially declares that China is committing genocide against Uyghur Muslims and after 16 years Angela Merkel hands over to Olaf Schulz in the Bundestag, Westminster is obsessing about a “party” that Boris Johnson denies broke government rules in December 2020.
A video surfaced, probably leaked by someone with a grudge, featuring the PM’s COP26 spokeswoman Allegra Stratton, his special advisor Ed Oldfield and others at a mock press briefing in the new £2.6 million press room at No10, making silly jokes about a party. The group knew their skit was being recorded; it is not known if the rehearsal was official and then descended into farce or if they were just having a seasonal laugh. Cabinet members Sajid Javid and Liz Truss have condemned the video but subsequently, other “parties” purporting to be office gatherings have come to light. Coming on the back of the Paterson sleaze story and the Electoral Commission fining the Conservatives £17,800 for failing to accurately report a donation for redecorating the PM’s flat above No11, questions are being asked if this is symptomatic of the government’s lax approach to parliamentary standards and financial oversight.
This has opened a can of worms for Boris Johnson, Allegra Stratton who was extremely popular and considered excellent at her job, intelligent and respected, has been the fall guy and resigned. The vicious nature of the media was apparent on a tearful Stratton’s doorstep. The public is disappointed with the government’s behaviour during the time of Tier3 restrictions, while ministers and spads partied, others were forced to spend be a lonely Christmas isolating, the “one rule for us and another rule for them” meme is in full flow. Many Tory MP’s, especially new Red Wall MP’s and Blue Wall rebel MPs, are livid as they fear losing their seats next time around, as early as 2023. Johnson has tasked the Cabinet Secretary, Simon Case, to investigate three allegations of parties that broke the rules.
The Cabinet Office hoped the party story would get lost as they introduced PlanB/new restrictions in the hope of curbing Omicron. Boris Johnson, the Chief Medical Officer and Chief Scientific Advisor presented some dramatic figures about this variant doubling every 3 days, however, no modelling was shown. The restrictions include mandatory mask-wearing in public places, guidance to work from home, and Covid passports for larger events including theatres and cinemas. Johnson did say all this might change in a couple of weeks as the science understood more about Omicron and whether current vaccines were effective enough. In 2020 the government was accused of not acting soon enough but now they are accused of acting too soon, and in the face of alleged hypocrisy the issue of public compliance is in question.
Speaker Lindsay Hoyle was annoyed the PM did not announce this in the House of Commons first; this is the second time the Speaker has admonished the PM for choosing a press conference over the Chamber for announcing regulations. Plan B comes into force on Monday 13 and is likely to stop at the end of January 2022. On Tuesday MPs are due to vote on the mask and passport mandate, most Labour MPs support the mandate but Sir Keir Starmer is taking advantage of the consecutive scandals to claim that Johnson is “unfit for office”.
A massive Tory backbench rebellion is brewing against PlanB and the removal of civil liberties without any supportive evidence or data, and Covid passports are considered divisive and discriminatory. Many MPs are preparing to risk the wrath of CCHQ and threats of withholding campaign funding and preferring to rely on external donations instead. Tory backbenchers are fearful this is preparing the way for compulsory vaccination, the vote may pass with Labour support if Tory’s legendary majority votes against the mandate. Any penalty for vaccination non-compliance has not been mentioned, the EU has a system of fines up to Euro 500, and Greece has imposed a monthly fine of Euros 100 for those who remain unvaccinated. So far in the UK, no provisions have been made for conscientious objectors.
Boris and Carrie Johnson will be overjoyed with the birth of their daughter on Thursday but the state of his leadership is nothing to celebrate at the time of writing.