British Prime Minister Johnson has to tackle the culture in his cabinet in response to the many drinks and parties in his official residence during corona. Johnson’s Conservative Party chairman Oliver Dowden said. He does not believe that the prime minister should resign, because Johnson has “started the massive booster campaign that is dragging us through omikron”.
“We need to get to the truth and then the Prime Minister needs to respond appropriately and tackle the culture in 10 Downing Street,” Dowden told Sky News. He also says he is disgusted by the get-togethers allegedly held on the eve of the funeral of Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth’s husband. In addition to the corona measures that applied at the time, there was national mourning in the country.
Leading party member Tobias Ellwood also calls Johnson to account for his responsibility. He must take charge or resign, he tells the BBC following reports that there is a weekly Friday afternoon drink used to be. “We need leadership.”
Ellwood says MPs are inundated with angry messages from their supporters. The government is calling for judgments to be held until an independent investigation led by top government official Sue Gray is completed. That focuses on the government’s compliance with its own rules, both during a drink in the garden and at two parties on the eve of Prince Philip’s funeral.
Already drawn conclusions
Johnson last week apologized for attending a drink in the garden of his official residence in May 2020, where staff were asked to bring their own drinks, while the country was largely locked due to corona.
The leader of the opposition Labor Party, Keir Starmer, believes Johnson has broken the law and has admitted it in so many words. He told the BBC: “I know the government wants to wait for the results of the investigation, but it seems pretty clear to me what happened. The Downing Street partying is not really being denied and I think the public is already drawing conclusions. I think the facts speak for themselves. I think the Prime Minister lied about the facts.”
It is becoming increasingly clear that support for Johnson is also declining within his own party. At least five prominent party members have already said they no longer trust him. Also in opinion polls, support for the Conservatives is declining in favor of Labour.
Others responsible
The Sunday Times reports that Johnson plans to save his political future with a big clean-up at 10 Downing Street. He would come out with a number of “populist announcements” in order to remain in office after “party gate”. He would like to announce, among other things, that all corona measures will be lifted on January 26.
Aside from the “humiliating apologies” he made last week, Johnson has refused to take responsibility for the crisis and has wondered why his employees have not protected him, the paper writes. A government source says Johnson believes he is not to blame.
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