Boris Johnson prides himself on being the ‘people’s politician’. But by attending a lockdown-busting Downing Street garden party in May 2020, he has disastrously misread the public mood.
Now, to rebuild their trust, the Prime Minister has a massive mountain to climb.
His first strides out of the foothills show genuine contrition. Goodness knows, the country deserved his humbling apology.
Mr Johnson was the architect of the most draconian curbs on our freedoms in living memory. People made enormous sacrifices to stop Covid’s spread.
Thousands suffered the anguish of being forbidden from being at loved ones’ funerals. Many said goodbye to dying relatives over Zoom.
Yet while they stuck fastidiously to the rules, No10 broke them with cavalier disregard. So it was right Mr Johnson donned sackcloth and ashes.
Boris Johnson prides himself on being the ‘people’s politician’. But by attending a lockdown-busting Downing Street garden party in May 2020, he has disastrously misread the public mood
The Daily Mail believes his remorse is sincere. Yet his claim that he believed the party a work event raises eyebrows. For his sake, that assertion mustn’t unravel.
Still, the PM is not yet out of the woods. An official inquiry into Whitehall parties could land him in hot water.
Tory MPs may conclude he has become a political liability. And at May’s elections, voters could desert the Conservatives in droves – potentially sealing his fate.
Mr Johnson must, however, hope he is judged in the round. Ending all restrictions in the summer, the booster rollout and his courageous rejection of lockdown measures as Omicron surged were masterstrokes.
If he lifts Plan B curbs, he would be hailed a hero as England
