(Credit: AFP) (Note: also, I want Larry The Cat for questioning. He's the real inside man on the job.)
Earlier this afternoon, I was walking my dog, and after the tempestuous weather of yesterday, the aftereffects of Storm Barra were rife to be seen. Amide the usual late-Autumn/early-Winter decor, damp scatterings of fallen leaves, the dewey pallor to the palette atop the blades of grass, two trees had collapsed. Though young, strong and with deep strands, tuberous tendrils extending through the ground below the surface, these pillars of our park had been uprooted, dislodged from their place, previously solid footing atop the soil. They now lie now sideways in fallen heaps, fated no doubt to the proverbial wood chipper when the Council decides to come round and clear up the mess. Though it was a matter, an image of pure, natural coincidence, I can't help but feeling that the same can be said for current, ongoing issues surrounding the events at Number 10.
(credit: author's own work)
Many of you who have been following the story are no doubt familiar with the details already, so I will offer but a brief recap:
last week, The Mirror broke the news that on December 18th of last year, two days after Prime Minister Boris Johnson put London into tier three restrictions, a Christmas party was held by officials at Number 10 Downing Street, with numbers of up to forty or fifty people drinking wine, hosting a quiz and Secret Santa while the rest of the United Kingdom was under government-mandated lockdown.
A day after said party, Johnson doubled down his emphasis on abiding by the restrictions, holding a press conference in which he announced that Christmas was cancelled.
Amid further reports emerging about "cheese, nibbles and games," the official party was "we don't recognise these accounts," with Health Secretary Sajid Yavid stating that although there were no parties he was aware of, all rules at all times would have been followed at Number 10.
In relation to mounting pressure and criticism from bereaved family members of those who died from Covid-19, Johnson would refuse to give any further details to reporters, and following Labour MP Barry Gardiner's request to Metropolitan Police Commissioner's request to investigate said party, Vaccines Minister Maggie Throup, again also unaware of said party, would dismiss such notions as "rumour and hearsay," while also keen to emphasise that "all guidance was followed" at 10 Downing Street by the Conservative Party.
The Met the next day would announce that although "It is not our policy to routinely investigate retrospective breaches of the COVID-19 regulations; we will however consider the correspondence received."
On December 5, Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Justice Dominic Raab in an interview Andrew Marr, admitted that a formal party would have broken rules and been "the wrong thing to do," but also stated that the reports were "unsubstantiated, anonymous claims."
The next day, the Prime Minster's spokesman would go one further, stating that "There was not a party and Covid rules have been followed at all time," and when asked to clarify would add, "I don't need to get into the position we've taken. It is simply a statement of fact."
Yesterday, a video emerged of Jacob Rees-Mogg declaring that "This party is not going to be investigated by the police in a year's time." And yet, as Greg Barradale of The Big Issue so succinctly put it, "Somehow, this was not the most damaging video of the day."
Later that evening, footage obtained by ITV News from last year showing former-PM Press Secretary Allegra Stratton, the PM's Special Advisor Ed Oldfield, among other government officials and staffers discussing the party in a mock-press conference at Number 9 Downing Street's Briefing Room, joking about cheese and wine, laughing about the possibility of coming up with a plausible explanation for all of this, given that it was "not socially distanced."
Today, government ministers who were due to appear on the media round today were conspicuous by their absence, most notably Health Minister Yavid on the first anniversary of the vaccine rollout, who no-showed BBC Breakfast as "No one has been made available," also missing out on BBC Radio 4 and Sky News, while Good Morning Britain also left an empty chair where a government minister would normally sit. A number of these outlets also expressed how unusual this was, as it has been rare since the beginning of the pandemic that a government minister does not appear in the media.
This afternoon, Boris Johnson opened Prime Minster's Questions by apologising, expressing his fury at having seen the leaked video, affirming his cooperation with a prospective police investigation and that if rules were broken "there will be disciplinary action for all those involved," but not without once more expressing that he had been "repeatedly reassured" that no rules has been broken, and when asked to produce said evidence, accusing the opposition parties of "trying to play politics" and "muddying the waters" when he was trying to address more pertinent issues at hand.
Over the course of this time period, it has also emerged that there was at least one other party on November 27 of 2020, at which Johnson himself made a fleeting appearance to speak to the gathering, before leaving to continue with work.
All of the above is cold, hard fact. None of the things I have presented to you in this short timeline are false, wrong or untrue, and have also been reported by numerous other reputable news outlets, with valid, legitimate sources to back up their evidence presented.
The same, sadly, cannot be said for Prime Minister Boris Johnson, or any of his government ministers or spokespeople. In the light of the facts presented, as potentially damnable evidence to his administration, he and his representatives have failed to produce any evidence of their own to back up their claims that they have abided by the rules at all times. Need it be said, that according the government's very own regulations at that time, the members of said gathering would have been in legal breach of said guidelines. Presently, the Metropolitan Police is in the process of bringing to court and prosecuting at least one case from last year, and what is more at least two individuals were issued not insubstantial fines of five-figures at the same time last year as The Downing Street Christmas Party.
Also at the same time last year, numerous families, who were not only kept apart from celebrating Christmas together because of the restrictions in place, and abiding by the word of law, also had to deal with the additional grief of loss and bereavement. Andrew Edwards' mother, Hazel Davies, died in a Wrexham hospital last year on the same day as The Downing Street Party, alone, when family members were banned from her bedside due to restrictions. Lynne Parker's husband of forty-two years Alistair, last held her husband's hand ten months before he passed away in a nursing home. Instead, she saw her husband when he was already dead for three hours on December the 19th. Moira Owen of Mold, Flintshire, stood outside the window of her one-hundred-and-four year old mother's care home, having arranged for a vocalist to sing for her. Indeed, as Keir Starmer would put it, the Queen herself had to sit alone when marking the passing of the man she had been married to for seventy-three years.
These are just four such stories all across the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the world over, of people whose lives, families, friends and loved ones have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the personal sacrifices that we have all had to make in these trying times. However, for all of the highfalutin rhetoric that has been spouted by Boris Johnson and the Conservative Party during the course of the pandemic, this is nothing less than a slap in the face.
In light of Boris Johnson's lack of evidence, despite expressing himself as though things were quite the contrary, to me the evidence is clear that this particular government lacks the requisite empathy required to rule. We are supposed to be able to look up to these people as leaders, to trust in them and to seek solace in the knowledge that as citizens of this state our sacrifice isn't for naught, that these rules are in place for a reason and that our government is doing the right thing. And yet despite this, the Conservative Party, who I frankly would doubt were all somehow suffering from a collective case of calendar-based malignant amnesia on December the 18th of last year, have shown once again their ignorance and contempt towards the people whom they govern. Furthermore, while the opinions expressed in the leaked video from last year at Number 9 are those of the individuals themselves, they are reflective of the wider, prevailing attitudes that pervade the upper stratum of the Conversative Party.
As opposed to going into damage control and no doubt getting everyone and sundry together for a closed-door Wednesday morning grilling session and then going into a half-hearted copout will-ye won't-ye apology, why not just be out with it, an admission of guilt, put your red hands down on the table and say "I'm sorry." Who knows, Boris, maybe you'll get the respect you so desperately crave. Be humble for a change, as opposed to toting your own boat and crowing about vaccine rollouts, taking the hard work of medical professionals as that of your own, whose work I might add you've made a lot harder, first with the herd immunity policy we haven't forgotten about and then the later responses which have had us in and out of lockdown for the guts of two years. Maybe try not adopting a policy of unwitting ignorance while attempting to discredit any opposition or questions to the contrary? Then what, you going to waste the taxpayer's money on an investigation to which we already know the answer? If ever there was an absurdist enterprise when I saw one! Don't try to defend the indefensible.
Boris Johnson's predecessor, Theresa May, inherited a poisoned chalice after the disastrous collapse of David Cameron's administration in the wake of 2016 EU Referendum. Johnson himself was a key proponent of said referendum, and upon his arrival into parliament rode a wave of momentum which bolstered him towards victory in a snap election in December of 2019. Since then, although there have been many wider issues (namely the environment) to deal with, across the United Kingdom there have been two all-prevailing issues which have captured the public consciousness and affected all aspects of our day-to-day lives; firstly, the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic; and secondly, the long-term ramifications of Brexit, both of which, for this particular iteration of the government under the Conservative Party, have been unequivocal failures. The very things which they have promised to deliver to their voters and to the public as a whole have not been backed up one iota.
I feel awful for all the civil servants, medical professionals and hard-working individuals who have devoted so much of their life, time and energy over the past two years to propping this government up and attempting to fulfil the interests, health and safety of the wider public as a whole, because to me it is obvious that between those of the government and the people there is an inherent contradiction. Now, admittedly, the Conservative Party has at times had a historical disposition towards self-interest, but whether or not you like them, people like Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher were leaders in the truest sense of the word. You may not have agreed with them, but they were leaders. Boris Johnson and his cadre at the top of the totem are not only selfish and ignorant, but they are also callous and cruel, lacking in fundamental leadership qualities, and displaying something which to me seems obvious but I will say outright and give it's own space for posterity sake:
Boris Johnson and his cronies do not care about you, me or anyone else, and are quite happy to be out breaking the rules while we stay cooped up in our houses separated from our loved ones, and not only that when it comes to the key issues of our day, COVID and Brexit, have proven to be incompetent and failed to deliver upon their promises.
And I will bring this op-ed round to a conclusion by making a final declarative statement regarding this Conservative government: if their response(s) to COVID and Brexit have been unequivocal failures, then The Downing Street Christmas Party was a piss-take.
I don't want to preempt anything so dramatic as the collapse of a government, but to me this should be the straw that broke the camel's back. Time and time again we have been messed about, and enough is enough.
When I saw these fallen trees in the park earlier on today, feeling the cool chill of the winter breeze, nature, as ever, enlightened me to time's passage and the winds of change.
Hopefully, what we can receive out of this is something we can still have faith in, people in whom we can trust, believe. At least, this Christmas we have each other. Life's too short, so remember to keep your loved ones close and cherish them.
(Note: during the course of writing this article, Allegra Stratton offered her resignation to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, less than twenty hours after the emergence of the Number 9 Briefing Room video. Also, Johnson announced plans for the government to begin implementation of it's Plan B measures in tacking the Omicron variant of COVID-19.
