Revelations in the Daily Mirror on 30 November 2021 about a spate of partying by ruling party elites and parliamentary officials in London during November and December 2020 would normally have attracted little public attention and even less disapprobation. But on this particular occasion things have turned out somewhat differently. What is particularly concerning is the context in which these events took place, just as ordinary British citizens were being denied the right to socialise along similar lines. The second national lockdown, from 5 November to 2 December 2020, gave way to Coronavirus Tier 3 (“very high alert”) restrictions banning indoor gatherings from 16 December , only to be followed by Tier 4 (“stay at home”) restrictions from 21 December onwards. These revelations could have not come at a worse time, coinciding as they did with the Prime Minister’s announcement on 8 December 2021 of the forthcoming phased introduction of unpopular Covid Plan B rules in England, including compulsory face mask wearing in most indoor public venues (from 10 December), working from home where possible (from 13 December), and mandatory NHS Covid Passes for nightclubs and other big events (from 15 December).
‘Partygate’ refers to a series of social gatherings involving the “Westminster Bubble”. The initial gatherings were in November: on the 13th (a Downing Street flat party, and a leaving party for Lee Cain, director of communications) and on the 27th (leaving party for Cleo Watson, an aide and prospective erotic novel writer). The partying gathered momentum the following month, with events on 10 December (Department of Education staff party), 14 December (Conservative Campaign Headquarters party), and 18 December (Downing Street Christmas Party). In response to the revelations, the Prime Minister and several ministers have repeatedly rejected any allegations of breaches of lockdown regulations, and on occasion even denied that any parties actually took place. The Metropolitan Police have since decided not to investigate any possible breaches of the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) Regulations, “based on the absence of evidence and in line with our policy not to investigate retrospective breaches of such regulations”.
The 18 December Downing Street Christmas Party became notorious after a video recording of a trial run for future media briefings, made four days later and only recently disclosed by ITV News, showed a jolly press secretary Allegra Stratton describing the “fictional” party as a “business meeting” that was “not socially distanced”. This particular “secret Santa” party, complete with party games and cheese and wine, apparently also featured an address from, and the distribution of “thank you” awards by, Jack Doyle, the then deputy director of communications at 10 Downing Street. This compelling video evidence proved sufficient for a tearful and contrite Stratton to resign shortly after its public showing.
Political opponents have called for the Prime Minister’s own resignation, and if he fails to do so for him to be ousted by his own MPs, some of whom appear genuinely aggrieved by the ways in which things are turning out. And there is no such outrage more powerful than that which arises among one’s own parliamentary colleagues, of the kind that saw off Neville Chamberlain in 1940 and Margaret Thatcher fifty years later. Some Conservative MPs seem indignant over the government’s double standards regarding lockdown restrictions, which may be hard to justify to their constituents, while a larger number of their fellow parliamentarians are even angrier about the prime minister’s announcement of Plan B lockdown rules, on the very day he also launched an inquiry by Cabinet Secretary Simon Case into the partying at Downing Street on 18 December 2020. But the fraternity of Tory MPs of today is a more homogeneous body than during the early post-War years, when the Conservative Party was a broader church, with its very own left-wing (“Wets”), centrist, and die-hard right-wing members, and it seems unlikely, although not impossible, that they will gang up to depose Mr Johnson in the absence of suitable alternative leaders (? Sunak).
The allegations about the events of last November and December have somewhat dented the Prime Minister’s reputation and have also diminished the credibility of the government’s latest public health measures. While Boris Johnson may have been deemed the greatest British Prime Minister since Churchill by none other than ex-President Donald Trump and many this side of the Atlantic seem to concur, he seems to be squandering his chances of proving his Churchillian credentials at a time of national crisis by adopting a somewhat casual approach to matters of state and on occasion not leading by example, at a time when exceptional qualities of leadership are expected by the country’s citizens.
Ashis Banerjee