Anger is growing within the Conservative Party over a series of alleged lockdown-breaking parties in Downing Street, with an increasing number of MPs calling for the prime minister to step down.
Boris Johnson the English premier is embroiled in a crisis over allegations of numerous parties held in Downing Street, while the rest of the UK was in lockdown, this has sparked national outrage among the constituents, the timing is particularly tortuous for the governing Conservative party.
For weeks, Johnson and his loyalists tried to wait out the scandal by refusing to answer even the simplest of questions related to some of the parties, as a steady drip of revelations emerged on an almost daily basis.
But news of a “bring your own booze” party held in the Downing Street garden at the height of the UK’s first coronavirus lockdown on May 20th,2020 forced the Prime Minister to apologize this week and admit that he attended the event.
On Friday 14th, 2022, the scandal worsened as it was revealed that a party was held in Downing Street the night before the funeral of Prince Philip of Edinburgh. It was noted at the time that due to Covid-19 restrictions, the Queen was forced to mourn her husband at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle while sitting alone. The government apologized to the Queen, but more danger lurks on the horizon.
Johnson and the government have largely stuck to their line that further comment on the parties should be withheld until an investigation is completed by Sue Gray, a senior civil servant who has been tasked with producing a report on exactly what happened
Keir Starmer, the leader of the Labour Party has ramped up the pressure on Boris Johnson as the prime minister fights to save his job, arguing that it is in the “national interest” that he steps down as he is “unable to lead”.
In a speech to the Fabian Society conference, the Labour leader accused the Conservatives of defending the prime minister’s scandal.
“Rather than concentrating on getting through the pandemic and bringing down waiting lists, this self-indulgent Tory party is instead having a fight about a leader who they should have known from the start is not fit for office.”
“We are witnessing the broken spectacle of a prime minister mired in deceit and deception, unable to lead,” Starmer said, adding that it was “very important that the Tory party does what it needs to do and gets rid of him” Starmer said.
So far six Conservative MPs, the party to which Boris Johnson belongs have called for his resignation in the wake of the Downing Street party scandal.
Douglas Ross, Andrew Bridgen, Sir Roger Gale, William Wragg, Tim Loughton and Caroline Nokes all say it’s time for a new leader after the PM admitted spending 25 minutes at a May 2020 Downing Street garden party.
According to the Sunday Times reports, around 35 Conservative MPs have submitted letters of “no confidence”, challenging the leadership of the Prime minister.
A minimum of 54 MPs are required to send a “vote of no confidence” letter to the Conservative 1922 Committee in order to trigger a leadership challenge of the Premier.
However, many more MPs are keeping quiet until after Sue Gray returns her investigative report on Downing Street parties.
