Matt N
CF Legend
Hi guys. A significant development occurred in the Partygate saga in the UK today, with the release of the long-awaited Sue Gray report shedding a light on exactly what happened in government and whether or not COVID rules were broken. With that in mind, I wanted to make a thread to ask; what are everyone's thoughts on this saga? What do we think might happen next as a result?
I'm aware that some of you may have no idea what I'm talking about. If you're not aware, Partygate is a political scandal in the UK, centering around the UK government being accused of breaking their own COVID laws on numerous occasions. To briefly break down the order of events:
What do we think of all this? What do we reckon might happen next?
I'm not really sure myself. I'm not sure now is the right time for Boris Johnson to resign given the war in Ukraine and the cost of living crisis and all the other things going on; in these tumultuous times, I think we need stable leadership.
But what do you guys think to all this?
I'm aware that some of you may have no idea what I'm talking about. If you're not aware, Partygate is a political scandal in the UK, centering around the UK government being accused of breaking their own COVID laws on numerous occasions. To briefly break down the order of events:
- Partygate first came into the public conscious in December 2021, when footage from 2020 of Downing Street press staff joking about a "cheese and wine" party in a mock press briefing emerged. When UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson was questioned about these reports, he said that he was infuriated by the notion of a party and sacked those involved.
- Accusations then began to roll around surrounding a gathering in the prime minister's flat in November 2020, when Britain was in full lockdown and social gatherings were banned. When Boris Johnson was questioned about this, he insisted that there was no party, and that COVID guidance had been followed in Downing Street at all times.
- More and more reports of government parties emerged, including a "bring your own booze" event in the Downing Street garden in May 2020, a birthday party for the prime minister in June 2020, and numerous parties involving alcohol within the Downing Street offices. Further sources revealed that the PM was present at some of these events, so he changed his defence to say that he did not know he was at a party; he stated that they were "work events".
- Civil servant Sue Gray was called upon to conduct an investigation into these accusations, in order to determine what happened and make a judgement. This later found that 16 different Downing Street gatherings had occurred when Britain was in full lockdown.
- The Metropolitan Police later launched their own investigation into these events. This culminated in 126 fines being handed out to 83 individuals, including 1 £50 fine for the PM himself. This makes him the first British Prime Minister to have ever broken the law while in office.
- Further photos recently began emerging to do with the investigation. Many of these photos showed the PM's presence at these events with alcohol, including one showing him doing what appears to be a toast of some sort, which many felt to have casted doubt on his claims that he did not know rules had been broken. The PM was not fined for his presence at the event where he was photographed.
- The full Sue Gray report was released today, revealing full details of the events that occurred. It emerged that Downing Street staff were aware of rules being broken, and were relieved to have "gotten away with it", and that excessive alcohol was consumed at many of these events, leading to people being sick, fights breaking out and wine being thrown up the walls in Downing Street, amongst other things. It emerged that the PM was in on these gatherings and frequently present at them, often coming in and grabbing a drink for himself. It also emerged that drinks gatherings in Downing Street were very common; "Wine Time Fridays" were scheduled into the diaries of many civil servants throughout lockdown, and the PM often appeared at these gatherings.
- These emergences have led to Boris Johnson being accused of hypocrisy and lying to Parliament, which is a breach of the Ministerial Code and would normally be a resigning matter.
What do we think of all this? What do we reckon might happen next?
I'm not really sure myself. I'm not sure now is the right time for Boris Johnson to resign given the war in Ukraine and the cost of living crisis and all the other things going on; in these tumultuous times, I think we need stable leadership.
But what do you guys think to all this?
