No. 246– Sue Gray’s ‘Partygate’ Report Lands with a Thump!
Dear James,
Sue Gray’s Report on the ‘Partygate’ scandal landed this morning with a resounding thump on Boris Johnson’s desk and I have no doubt James, where you will stand on its main findings. You will support the Prime Minister through thick and thin. You will excuse him for breaking the law, deny that he misled parliament, forgive him for the "failures of leadership and judgment in No 10 and the Cabinet Office" and suggest that we should all move on, turn a page, put the past behind us?
Tell me, James, what does it feel like to ‘defend the indefensible’? Do you get a comforting sense of self-righteousness for your blind loyalty to this incorrigible ‘good time boy’ and his shenanigans? Do you get a sense of faux relief that the law breaking was just a forgivable misdemeanour against the much more important picture of the economy and the war in Ukraine? If so, you may claim that your position is an example of your good political judgment, forced upon you by the bear pit of parliamentary politics. But isn’t there a gap between your public position and your private views? Don’t you worry that your private sense of right and wrong, justice and injustice clashes with that ‘political judgment’? Would you not castigate your own children for lying and refusing to follow your basic family rules? If you wouldn’t it's either because your private view coincides with your public statements or that you will ignore the natural justice of your inner self to the advantage of career? Which is it James? Career or individual honour and integrity?
Some more questions for you. Would you allow a pilot, found to have encouraged his colleagues to drink on duty, to continue to fly his plane or lead his crew? Would you allow a surgeon, found tipsy on the job, to continue to operate? Or a house cleaner, found swigging back the booze in the broom cupboard, to continue in your employ? You might say that the above examples don’t compare with the party-going in No.10 because there was no risk to human life or family standards and I would agree. Because Boris’s behaviour collides with something even more important than the risk to human life or family standards. It offends the very values essential to the running of a true democracy. The average Briton has grown up with those values imprinted on their hearts. We expect our leaders to adhere to those values of honesty, fairness, integrity, transparency and trustworthiness presented by countless former PMs. Boris Johnson has consistently failed to do this. He is a rogue mutation in our political DNA that must be cut out before it’s too late. Because this mutation will be transmitted – arguably has already been transmitted – to the DNA of your Tory Party James. By continuing your blind loyalty to this strange man, you will be offending the values of the average man and woman in our nation. That way lies political destitution. Yesterday’s Savanta Poll for the Independent, revealed that 67% of voters think that Boris has lied consistently to parliament. 46% of their sample think that Boris should have resigned after his first fine. More worrying for Tory MPs is that 47% of those who voted Tory in 2019 say he must go if severely criticized by Sue Gray. That figure rises to 66% of all voters. Sue Gray has now delivered her judgment. "The senior leadership at the centre, both political and official, must bear responsibility for this culture"; the public have "a right to expect the very highest standards of behaviour" in Downing Street and "clearly what happened fell well short of this". James, that’s what I and many others call ‘severe’. ‘Damning’ might be a better word? Our current Prime Minister has become an electoral liability to your party and is a threat to our democracy.
Boris Johnson has all the characteristics of the loner autocrat. He has no shame, no honour, rewards loyalty and fears competence. He cannot see beyond his own self-interest. No clever Office Management system will contain him. He was damaged as a child and this damage is now being absorbed into the bloodstream of your party. Only you and your fellow Tory MPs have the power to remove this rogue DNA from our system.
A few days ago it was revealed the Sue Gray had a meeting with the PM recently. No 10 initially claimed she called for it. Subsequently they had to admit that it was Boris who initiated it. We can only guess at what was discussed! It’s the way of all liars. Wriggle, shift the blame, point the finger at the accuser. It’s the style of Vladimir Putin, Victor Urban and many like them. Fortunately, we have a civil servant amongst us who is incorruptible. Today she reported. All we need now are enough Tory politicians to take the next step. Will you have the courage or personal integrity to be among them James? Silly question, I know! At least I tried!
Sic semper tyrannis!
BH – Your Concerned Constituent
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