AIBU to think that Boris should resign now?

[Seemslikeagoodidea]

Today it has been revealed that in May 2020 invitations were emailed to (allegedly) 100 Downing Street staff, for a garden party. This party happened during the first lockdown, when many people could not visit their elderly relatives, even on their death beds, due to the lockdown rules. The email was sent by one of the PM's top people, and stated that people should "bring their own booze and enjoy the sunshine". Today Boris has been conspicuous by his absence.

I think this is the final straw and shows a lack of judgement and absence of moral fibre. Enough is enough - he should resign and if he doesn't do it then his own party should force him to go.

AIBU?

'If that’s the case why weren’t we allowed to visit anyones gardens and why were pub gardens closed?'

Omg for the trillionth time if you were at work you could sit indoors or outdoors with colleagues socially distanced.

@Clavinova

Clavinova, you said before that you wanted to establish the facts before commenting on Johnson's attendance at the party.

I haven't heard many facts at all. When do we hear the result of the inquiry?

You've heard the fact that Johnson admits being at a party at a time when he was telling us not to hold parties and gatherings of any sort. Any comment on that?

Carrie absolutely 100% shouldn’t have been there, she has a separate apartment in no. 10 and in no way counts as part of their ‘work bubble’ however they try to redefine it.

@JaniieJones

'If that’s the case why weren’t we allowed to visit anyones gardens and why were pub gardens closed?'

Omg for the trillionth time if you were at work you could sit indoors or outdoors with colleagues socially distanced.

THEY WEREN'T WORKING

Why are you not understanding that? It wasn't work, it was a social gathering, and therefore, fucking illegal.

@JaniieJones well you should be equally as meh and minimising about Starmers beer with colleagues as you are about a garden party. By your own argument Starmer didn't do anything wrong either. Just an error of judgement. At least you aren't being a hypocrite - you defend self serving people, whether that be Boris, Starmer etc because it suits you to defend people who reflect your thoughts/needs. That was my point. Other people have their own thoughts on whether these actions are right/wrong and are allowed to voice them according to their own moral stance. What you see as 'being whipped into a moral frenzy', others see as 'that doesn't sit right with me when they forced me to follow, by law, restrictions'.

@JaniieJones

None of these gatherings were work related. And they were not socially distanced.

Lets review.

This government made it law that there could be no social gatherings with colleagues. If you were not actively doing work then you could not socialise together, inside or outside.

There have now been several confirmed social gatherings in government buildings, including Downing Street. These gatherings were not work related. The people attending these parties were reasonable for the rules. They were responsible for mandating the police to break up these gatherings and issue fines.

Do you see a problem with a government making laws, enforcing those laws on the population but then doing the same thing themselves with no consequences and also lieing to parliament and the public?

@JaniieJones

'If that’s the case why weren’t we allowed to visit anyones gardens and why were pub gardens closed?'

Omg for the trillionth time if you were at work you could sit indoors or outdoors with colleagues socially distanced.

Carrie didn’t work there.

*responsible for the rules

@Roussette

3 people doing a zoom Christmas quiz, Downing Street staff sitting outside. Wine may have been drunk but we've yet to see 2am photos of people actually 'partying' aren't we

So because they weren't doing the conga round the garden, it wasn't a party?
Come off of it!
Pre Covid, we've had parties... 40 is a big one for us. It's. A. Party.

There's lots of them... What about this one? Hot buffet trays, cold buffet, drinks, party hats... is that not a party either?

You're splitting hairs. Let's call it a gathering then. A get together. A social.

Whatever you call it, It was NOT allowed.

But it happened throughout, my family awash with NHS workers from consultant's down partied hard, Christmas, birthdays, nightclubbing, it's up on their Instagram pages no big secret. They're still standing after 22 months of covid from 50 plus year olds right down to 3rd year med students.

My neighbor retired now saw NI Falkland Islands, Eastern Europe, he says it's normal to party in awful times. He's not impressed with the pearl clutching, mask wearing, self righteous namby pambies who have never had to dig up mass graves in Bosnia, no counselling out there he said

@JaniieJones

'If that’s the case why weren’t we allowed to visit anyones gardens and why were pub gardens closed?'

Omg for the trillionth time if you were at work you could sit indoors or outdoors with colleagues socially distanced.

I don’t know where you work but I’ve never been allowed to crack open a bottle and have a tipple whilst working?

They weren’t working.

It will turn out to be the fault of all those people who should have told Boris that this was a party and they didn't. They just put that glass of wine in his hand and sent him outdoors. Bad bad grown-ups.

Yes. See my user name

@Christmaswindows

Keir Starmer is no better, comes across as nothing but a whiney little baby.

What a pathetic and nasty viewpoint. A decent man asking pertinent questions "a baby" - really?

@justasking111 well my NHS colleagues were horrified at the idea Christmas 2020 might be a free for all and my partner who was part of the UN peacekeeping mission in Bosnia also thinks the government are piss taking twats.

Looks like neither of our anecdotes are conclusive and mean precisely fuck all.

@JaniieJones

'If 40 plus people turned up to the party then 40 plus people are also tossers who didn't obey the restrictions'

But they were surely people who minutes before were inside the building working together so what actually is the problem?

If we find out people on their days off were turning up with their kids in tow fine, but work colleagues going outside and the PM spending 25mins with them does not outrage me.

Some of you must stopped being so whipped into a frenzy by the media.

Except that Boris did turn up with someone who doesn't work in that building. Carrie, his then girlfriend and mother of his child. She doesn't and didn't work for the government.

She does live in the property so is entitled to use her garden. But if she turned up for a drink, it's a social gathering, not a works drink.

Because, where I work, if we had an after works drink on our office 'land' where we may be discussing where things that are work based, my husband wouldn't be accompanying me. If we were meeting in a pub or if it was a social event at the workplace, then he would.

And it isn't the party that enrages me - although I find it callous to be boozing it up with nibbles when over 300 people had died whether you'd been 'working hard' (whatever that looks like). As do I also find it callous that Allegra decided it was hysterical to try to think up an excuse about having a cheese and wine party...'it was a business meeting ha ha ha!'

It's the fact that Boris said last week that he didn't know of any other party.

It's the fact that he denied the Christmas 2020 parties.

It's the fact that, when asked directly by a journalist yesterday if he had attended the 'let's enjoy the sunshine BYO booze' event, he said we need to leave it to Sue Grey to ascertain.

But today, because he got caught, he admits he was there for 25 minutes.

I'm outraged because we have a leader who only admits mistakes when he's backed into a corner. He doesn't lead from the front, he hides in the corner hoping it will all go away and when it doesn't he then apologises. Which is insincere.

And I'm not going to 'stop getting whipped into a frenzy' unless that liar resigns.

@JaniieJones

Thought he came across well in PMQs. Apologised, admitted it shouldn't have happened then pointed out what they have done well. Fastest economic growth in the G7, least restrictions in Europe, fastest vaccine roll out etc etc.

This was a massive error of judgement. If nothing else it would obviously have got out, but going into a garden for 25mins to thank staff who were drinking wine doesn't seem that outrageous.

You only had to read mumsnet to see many were flouting, fine they weren't running the country but the faux outrage when beaches etc were all rammed that weekend is a bit unconvincing.

He always tries that deflection technique every single bloody time he gets caught out. Just for once he should have concentrated on telling the truth, apologising, and leaving it at that. And given the billions of pounds the economy has lost since Brexit, there is nothing to boast bout there anyway.

People were being prosecuted for much less blatant offences, and were being threatened with being prosecuted even for going to visit dying relatives. When he saw what was blatantly a party happening in his garden Johnson, as the person telling us not to hold any events of this nature, had only one appropriate course of action available to him, namely to stop it. Instead he chose to join in and facilitate it. It is completely outrageous, saying anything else is utterly ridiculous.

To the best of your and everyone else's knowledge, no-one on MN claiming to have flouted the rules was the Prime Minister responsible for imposing them.

I assume Janiie is from the Downing St press office and/or the Boris fan club, @Cornettoninja

These deflection attempts are hilarious.

Keir starmer is a cushion that bears the outline of the last ass that sat on him. Labour need a charasmatic leader they shot themselves in the foot backing the wrong Milliband

Maybe it’s illogical, in which case the government should have thought “this doesn’t make much sense, let’s change the rules” not “ah well, everyone else can follow them but we can see it’s silly so we’ll crack on” Good point

@derxa

Maybe it’s illogical, in which case the government should have thought “this doesn’t make much sense, let’s change the rules” not “ah well, everyone else can follow them but we can see it’s silly so we’ll crack on” Good point

Definitely. And perhaps if it had been legal for people to sit outdoors and socialise, lockdown wouldn't have caused as much suffering as it did.

My neighbor retired now saw NI Falkland Islands, Eastern Europe, he says it's normal to party in awful times. He's not impressed with the pearl clutching, mask wearing, self righteous namby pambies who have never had to dig up mass graves in Bosnia, no counselling out there he said

Well that's it then isn't it. The end of all discussion because someone's nextdoor neighbour isn't impressed. If only all legal matters and matters of state could be resolved so easily.

Of course I suppose it would be awkward if someone else's neighbour was impressed. I mean whose neighbour gets the final say?

I'll just pop round and ask my neighbours how they feel about it.

Not as many Boris bots on here as usual. A couple trying to deflect on to Starmer, the SNP, the media or the great huddled masses on the beaches. No one doing the he works so hard he deserves it line though.
Won't work this time. Hes been lying about the parties and a multitude of other things. Mostly you have to wonder who tf came up with I attended a works do for 25 minutes in my own garden before I realised it was a party line. Its so awful and weak. It might, at a push, get him out of a legal prosecution but its going to fuck off the majority of the British public.The rest of the Tory Party can surely see that the longer he stays following this line the more votes they lose. People don't like being openly taken for fools.
How far the office of Prime Minister has fallen in 2 years.

@BalladOfBarryAndFreda

I assume Janiie is from the Downing St press office and/or the Boris fan club, *@Cornettoninja*

Oh dear. The Boris fan club , is there one I must sign up.

I just don't let Sky news brain wash me, I can think for myself.

It was an error or judgement not crime of the century, he's apologised but it was a work place. They were colleagues. So what.

Mostly you have to wonder who tf came up with I attended a works do for 25 minutes in my own garden before I realised it was a party line. Its so awful and weak. It might, at a push, get him out of a legal prosecution but its going to fuck off the majority of the Britishpublic.

Imagine how shit the cover stories they rejected must've been!