Will ‘partygate’ finish Boris Johnson?
On Wednesday, January 19 at 19:30GMT:
Are the nine political lives of UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson up? A series of scandals have marked his leadership, but now several political analysts think it may all end over a party.
The party in question – a May 2020 social event in the garden of 10 Downing Street, reported to have been attended by 40 people. The invite said to “bring your own booze.”
At the time, a COVID-19 lockdown was in place and socialising was restricted to only one person outside the household in a public place. Several hundred deaths a day were being recorded and families across the country were separated.
Johnson last week admitted he attended the party, not realising it was one. He apologised, saying he had gone to thank staff for their work and then returned to his office. He also reminded parliament that an independent inquiry was underway and he would say more once its findings were released.
British media have reported that at least nine gatherings took place at Johnson’s official residence, or in other government departments, between May and December 2020.
But while his critics are up in arms over “partygate,” several members of his own Conservative party are holding firm in their support for the leader.
Johnson’s future remains unclear. To trigger a leadership challenge, 54 of the 360 Conservative MPs must write letters of no confidence. But this latest scandal has helped the opposition Labour Party open a double-digit opinion poll lead on the Conservatives.
In this episode, we discuss Boris Johnson’s future and ask what it means for the UK.
On this episode of The Stream, we speak with:
Tom Harwood, @tomhfh
Political Correspondent, GB News
Ash Sarkar, @AyoCaesar
Contributing Editor, Novara Media
Neave Barker, @neavebarker
Correspondent & Presenter, Al Jazeera English