Of course, his lickspittles and bag carriers could be depended upon to cheer Boris Johnson to the rafters of the House of Commons as he fought to save his career this afternoon, but more striking was the silence in which many of the prime minister’s critics were heard.
As Labour leader Keir Starmer picked apart the tissue of lies and deceit that has comprised Johnson’s defence of at the “partygate” scandal, many Conservatives – more than will have been comfortable for the PM – sat in stony silence.
Many, and a number have already said as much in public, will have agreed with the leader of the opposition when he called, again, for the prime minister to resign.
Any Tory MPs with the capacity for shame will have squirmed as Starmer turned his attention to those who still support Boris Johnson. They could, said the Labour leader, continue to degrade themselves, insulting the sacrifices of the British public, and heaping their reputations on the “bonfire” of Johnson’s leadership, or they could spare the country from a prime minister “totally unworthy of his responsibilities”.
For the past two weeks, Johnson has hidden behind civil servant Sue Gray’s investigation into allegations of lockdown-breaking parties at Downing Street when refusing to answer questions on the issue. An investigation by the Metropolitan Police is his new shield.
An intervention by the police meant Sue Gray issued earlier today what was described as an “update”. The document lacked specific details, including the names of individuals being investigated.
Inevitably, this meant Johnson fended off all attacks – including demands for his resignation – by insisting we should all wait to see what is in the report. This was a line wearing perilously thin when the PM used it in relation to Gray’s work. Repurposing this line of evasion to include the police investigation looks desperate, indeed.
Sue Gray can’t make public anger disappear
While Gray’s report might have held back on detail, it contained enough to justify demands for Johnson to go.
Gray’s conclusion that “at least some of the gatherings in question represent a serious failure to observe not just the high standards expected of those working at the heart of government but also of the standards expected of the entire British population at the time” should be enough to finish Johnson off. If we believe that the buck stops with the PM, then Gray’s finding should bury him.
Johnson bluffed and blustered his way through today’s session in the Commons, but the impression was not of a man in control. Half-baked promises about restructuring won’t come close to answering public fury over Downing Street parties during lockdown.
And this public anger – anger which has seen Labour pull ahead of the Tories in the polls – remains a problem for the prime minister and his supporters. Nothing Sue Gray wrote could have changed that.
Boris Johnson has bluffed and blagged his way through life, lying freely and breaking promise after promise
We have heard Johnson lie about lockdown-breaking parties; first they didn’t take place, then they did but the PM knew nothing about them, then – oops – the PM attended one but didn’t realise he was at a party.
Boris Johnson has bluffed and blagged his way through life, lying freely and breaking promise after promise. I suspect Keir Starmer’s words about enabling this rotten premiership will be playing on the minds of many Tory MPs, this evening.
Euan McColm is a regular columnist for various Scottish newspapers
