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Empty words: Prime Minister Boris Johnson has found a way to apologise that appears to have become unacceptable around much of the country. Faced with a summary of the Sue Gray report, he said in Parliament he is “sorry”, but without accepting that he has done anything wrong. Earlier he had apologised to Parliament because he said he understood that people would think that the gatherings at Downing Street through the lockdown were parties. Many seem sorry that he’s saying it this way.
Beleaguered Boris: Partygate is not going away, even if Boris Johnson is going away to Ukraine to speak for Britain on a troubled international stage. The opposition is gunning for him, the media are screaming at him, his own party MPs are nursing misgivings even if not opposing him openly yet. It’s hard to think of another prime minister of Britain who has appeared such a sorry sight. Liberal Democrats leader Sir Ed Davey says Johnson is “the worst prime minister Britain has ever had”. He is far from alone in thinking that.
Standing by: Given the continually shaky position of Boris Johnson, a lot of eyes are on the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak. The two sought to bury any show of differences, and Sunak of any intention to replace Johnson with himself, by writing a joint article in The Times supporting new taxation. And now Sunak followed up with a position next to Johnson who faced a long grilling in Parliament, remembering to nod very visibly when anyone spoke in support of Johnson. He did not have a lot of nodding to do.
May as well: The most embarrassing moment for Johnson clearly was a simple but pointed question from his predecessor Teresa May. “The Covid regulations imposed significant restrictions on the public, she said in Parliament,” she said. “They had a right to have expected their prime minister to have read the rules, to understand the meaning of the rules, and those around to have done so too, and set an example in obeying those rules.” Since No. 10 is now shown by the Gray report not to have observed the rules, she asked if the PM had not read the rules, or understood what they meant, or they didn’t think the rules applied to No. 10. “Which was it?” To which Johnson replied. “That is not what the Sue Gray report says.” He advised her to wait for the police inquiry.
Wait not over: After the long wait for the Sue Gray report, the wait now begins for the report from the police investigation into partygate. The usual wisdom is that public memory runs short, and when people see Boris Johnson doing the big things on the international stage, they’ll forget about all the little parties at Downing Street. This time the usual wisdom may not work. The longer Johnson clings on, the more annoying he appears to become.
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