Partygate
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About
Partygate refers to a controversy surrounding Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson and the UK Government who alleged to have covered up a number of parties, mostly during Christmas 2020 which were held at public venues including 10 Downing Street, the official residence of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom at the height of lockdown in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Origin
On November 5th, 2020, a lockdown was implemented in England by the UK Government in response to the COVID-19 pandemic due to a significant rise in number of cases. Advice stated that no indoor gatherings should be held including parties or social events.
Over a year later, on December 1st, 2021, the Daily Mirror, a British newspaper, leaked details of UK Government staff attending and organising multiple parties, with a party that was supposedly held at 10 Downing Street on December 18th, 2020, weeks after the lockdown was implemented, making the front cover. (see below)
Since the scandal has emerged, the pressure on Boris Johnson's premiership began to grow due to revelations of more parties and gatherings being held throughout the same festive period.
Events
The parties
Pre-Christmas parties
Wine-Time Friday's: Every Friday throughout the first lockdown, Downing Street staff held drinks between 4-7pm each Friday with a wine fridge
Cheese and Wine Garden Party: On 15th May 2020, Boris Johnson hosted a garden party with cheese and wine at 10 Downing Street in the height of the first lockdown of the pandemic.
BYOB Garden Party: Another garden party was allegedly held in May 2020, on the 20th May where Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds attended. An email was sent out by the Prime Minister's private secretary telling guests to bring their own 'booze'.
Boris Johnson's Birthday Party: Another party took place in June 2020 for Boris Johnson's 55th birthday.
Hannah Young's Leaving Party: A leaving party was allegedly held in the Cabinet Office on June 18th, 2020 for Hannah Young, the then private secretary at Downing Street
Christmas parties
Lee Cain's Leaving Party: On November 13th, 2020, eight days after the national lockdown, it was reported that Boris Johnson had gave a speech at a leaving party for Lee Cain, his director of communications at Downing Street. Boris Johnson was reported to have said that the room was "quite crowded" but then shortly afterwards, left.
Carrie Johnson's Flat Parties: Also on November 13th, 2020, it was alleged that Carrie Johnson (née Symonds), the then fiance of Boris Johnson, hosted a flat party. This was revealed after Dominic Cummings, Boris Johnson's former senior adviser tweeted about the flat party on December 7th, 2021.
HM Treasury Party: On November 25th, 2020, another party was alleged to have been held by the HM Treasury in response to Chancellor of the Exequher, Rishi Sunak's spending review. This was revealed in an article of The Times on December 11th, 2021.
Cleo Watson's Leaving Party: On November 27th, 2020, it was alleged that another leaving party took place at Downing Street for Cleo Watson, a senior side who worked for the UK Government. Boris Johnson was reported to have made a farewell speech at the event.
Department of Education Party: On December 10th, 2020, it was alleged that a party took place at the cafe of the Department of Education where Gavin Williamson, the education secretary at the time, hosted the reception with staff members.
Conservative Mayoral Campaign Party: On December 14th, 2020, a Christmas party was held at the Conservative Party headquarters at Westminster in London. The party coincided with the launch of Shaun Bailey's campaign to be Mayor of London in 2021. A picture emerged of Shaun Bailey and Conservative members at the party.
Downing Street Christmas Quiz: On December 15th, 2020, a Christmas quiz was held through Zoom however there was Non-household mixing taking place at 10 Downing Street, breaking the Tier 2 restrictions that were in place.
Cabinet Office Parties: On December 17th, 2020, a Christmas party was held by Simon Case who would later be initially appointed as the lead investigator in the scandal. The digital calendar stated that a Christmas party was held on this date. Leaving parties for civil servant Kate Joseph and Steve Highman, private secretary to the Prime Minister was also held on that day too.
Downing Street Christmas Party: The event which gained the most attention was undoubtedly an alleged party that was held at 10 Downing Street, where on December 18th, 2020. At the event, it was stated that guests eat cheese and drank wine and played 'Secret Santa'. The event was said to have been attended by over 50 people.
Post-Christmas parties
Private Secretaries Leaving Party: On 14th January 2021, a farewell party for two private secretaries were held with Boris Johnson allegedly in attendance.
Downing Street Basement Parties: On 16th April 2021, staff at 10 Downing Street hosted a farewell party to James Flack, the director of communications. Another farewell party was also held the same night for a personal photographer for the Prime Minister. The event was held on the eve of Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh's funeral, a time when restrictions on indoor gatherings were still in place.
Developments
November–December 2021
First revelations
The Mirror leak: On November 30th, 2021, The Mirror released a front page spread about a series of parties that were held at 10 Downing Street during November and December 2020, a period of time when London was currently under lockdown restrictions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The restrictions prohibited indoor gatherings of more than six people, with exceptions for certain work-related activities.
Allegra Stratton video: On December 7th, 2021, ITV News released a video, in which Allegra Stratton and other Downing Street staff – during a mock press conference which was held on December 22th, 2020, made joking references to a Christmas gathering in 10 Downing Street four days earlier on December 18th, 2020 (see below).
The leaked video was filmed from the Downing Street Press Briefing Room and began with media advisor Ed Oldfield playing the role of a journalist and asking Allegra Stratton a mock question: "I’ve just seen reports on Twitter that there was a Downing Street Christmas party on Friday night, do you recognise those reports?" In response, Allegra Stratton and other Downing Street staff joked about the "fictional party" being just "cheese and wine" and a "business meeting", with "no social distancing".
On December 18th, 2021, it emerged that more videos involving Allegra Stratton asking mock questions were filmed and were in circulation. These are yet to be released.
Resignation of Allegra Stratton
On December 7th, 2021, the day after the ITV News video leak of Allegra Stratton laughing about the alleged Christmas party at Downing Street, she resigned as Boris Johnson's spokesperson and advisor and remarked that she would regret her actions for 'the rest of her days'. (see below)
In the aftermath of the ITV News leaked video revelation, many began to speculate if a leadership challenge against Boris Johnson would occur. Many cited that if the Conservatives were to lose the North Shropshire by-election, the Conservative safe seat, then that would build mounting pressure for a leadership challenge against Boris Johnson.
Second revelations
On December 10th, 2021, revelations of a party on November 25th, 2020 held by the HM Treasury to celebrate Chancellor Rishi Sunak's budget, were published. On December 11th, 2021, it was reported that Teresa Coffey and staff in her department brought alcohol and food into work after hours.
Boris Johnson's Christmas Quiz: On the same day, Pippa Crerar, the political editor of The Mirror published details of a Christmas quiz which was held on December 15th, 2020 and featured Boris Johnson. On the article published, it featured a picture of Boris Johnson and aides in his office wearing Santa hats. (see below).
Conservative Party HQ Party and Resignation of Shaun Bailey
On December 14th, 2021, The Mirror leaked a picture of a party held at the Conservative Party headquarters in Westminster, precisely a year after the party occurred (see below).
EXCLUSIVE: Extraordinary image shows 'raucous' Xmas party thrown by Tory aides in lockdown breachhttps://t.co/byaoIsj0L8
— Mirror Politics (@MirrorPolitics) December 14, 2021
A few hours before the story went public, Shaun Bailey had resigned as the chair of the London Assembly’s police and crime committee.
Downing Street Garden Party Photo Revelation
On December 19th, 2021, a picture was leaked to The Guardian which showed Boris Johnson, his wife, Carrie Johnson, his Private Secretary Martin Reynolds in the garden of 10 Downing Street eating and drinking cheese and wine (see below).
At the time, coronavirus guidelines which were issued prohibited mixing households from gathering. After the photo was published publicly, a Downing Street spokesperson claimed that it was a work meeting.
January–February 2022
Downing Street "Bring Your Own Booze" Garden and Basement Parties
On December 22nd, 2021, Dominic Cummings wrote on Twitter that he was writing a blog which would reveal details on the parties. He released the blog on January 7th, 2022 where he stated that there was another garden party at Downing Street that was held on 20th May, 2020.
On January 10th, 2022, ITV News obtained an email from a classified user on behalf of Martin Reynolds, the principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister where over a hundred people were invited for socially distanced drinks in the Downing Street Gardens to make good of the warm weather, this being at the height of lockdown in 2020 when outdoor gatherings were banned. (see below)
EXCL: Email obtained by @itvnews proves over 100 staff were invited to drinks party in No 10 garden at height of lockdown to “make the most of the lovely weather”.
We’re told PM and his wife attended, with staff invited to “bring your own booze!”https://t.co/rg34EIkdz2 pic.twitter.com/UORlSwwHJX— Paul Brand (@PaulBrandITV) January 10, 2022
On January 13th, 2022, The Telegraph reported that two more parties had taken place on the eve of the funeral of Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh on April 16th, 2021, this was when restrictions were still in place for indoor gatherings. (see below)
🚨EXCLUSIVE
Number 10 held two boozy parties the night before the Queen mourned Prince Philip alone.
Staff drank and at points danced until the early hours of the night of April 16.
Hours later, the Queen went to a socially-distanced funeral for Philip. https://t.co/sWrFcOrplE— Tony Diver (@Tony_Diver) January 13, 2022
On January 14th, 2022, Downing Street had sent an apology out to Buckingham Palace for the party held in April 2021. Later that day, it emerged that another party was held on December 17th, 2020, a leaving party for Kate Josephs, a civil servant in the government at the time.
On January 16th, 2022, Dominic Lawson, a journalist, wrote in The Sunday Times and claimed that the Prime Minister did know about the BYOB party on May 20th, 2020 and was challenged over the Reynolds email twice.
On January 17th, 2022, Dominic Cummings released another blog in regards to the May 20th party which backed up Dominic Lawson's claims. In the blog, he claimed that the Prime Minister encouraged the party to go ahead. If Cummings' claims prove to be true, it would conclude that Boris Johnson had misled parliament.
Wine-Time Friday Revelations
On January 14th, 2022, The Mirror revealed that a series of gatherings took place in Downing Street each Friday at the beginning of the pandemic, during the first lockdown, where staff at Downing Street held what they called, 'Wine-Time Friday's'. (see below)
EXCLUSIVE: No 10 staff held ‘wine-time Fridays’ throughout pandemic with Boris Johnson regularly witnessing the gatherings.
Sources say PM encouraged aides to "let off steam" despite indoor socialising being banned under lockdown rules.https://t.co/wNUdlDik1F— Pippa Crerar (@PippaCrerar) January 14, 2022
Photos were revealed of a fridge arriving at Downing Street and the fridge itself in one of the rooms in the house where wine was alleged to have been stored.
After the revelations, Downing Street did not deny the reports. On January 16th, 2022, it was revealed that another leaving party was held in Downing Street with Boris Johnson allegedly in attendance.
Operation Save Big Dog
On January 15th, 2022, reports of a plan drawn up by Downing Street called Operation Save Big Dog, was reported for the first time. The plan was reported to be a response to the investigation into the scandal by Sue Gray.
Sky News Interview
On January 18th, 2022, Boris Johnson was interviewed on Sky News political editor Beth Rigby. In the interview, Boris Johnson reiterated that no conclusions should be made until Sue Gray's report is released. He also said that no one had told him the rules which led to many joking about the use of the phrase. He was criticised for continuing to steer away from the questions given to him. (see below)
Defection of Christian Wakeford
On January 19th, 2022, Conservative MP Christian Wakeford who represents Bury South, defected to the Labour Party. He walked to the opposition benches during Prime Minister's Questions in opposition to Boris Johnson's actions during the scandal.
In an interview shortly after Prime Minister's Questions, Christian Wakeford stated that the main reasons why he defected was due to the issues and scandals the Conservative Party have been involved in, in the past few months such as the Dominic Cummings scandal and the controversy surrounding Owen Patterson. (see below)
Further revelations
On January 20th, 2022, Conservative MP William Wragg claimed that Conservative MPs who were to put votes of no confidence to Boris Johnson were threatened with blackmail by chief whips and staff at Downing Street where they were told that funding to their offices would be cut, they would have the boundaries changed in an election and embarrassing stories would be released about them. (see below)
In response to these accusations, Boris Johnson claimed that he had seen no evidence of any claims of blackmail made by the chief whip and staff at Downing Street. (see below)
On January 24th, 2022, ITV News revealed that Boris Johnson had held a party in Downing Street on June 19th, 2020 for his 56th birthday. It was reported that the party was held shortly after Boris Johnson led a moment's silence for those working on the frontline who died from coronavirus.
It was reported that Boris Johnson's wife, Carrie Johnson organised the party and 30 people were invited to the party.
March–April 2022
Fixed penalty notices
On March 29th, 2022, the Metropolitan Police issued more than 20 fixed penalty notices to those who broke lockdown rules. In response to this, the deputy Prime Minister, Dominic Raab acknowledged that the law had been broken and that Boris Johnson accepted responsibility what happened. In regards to the fixed penalties, it was noted that the police wouldn't reveal who received the fixed penalties.
On April 12th, 2022, Boris Johnson and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, were given fixed penalty notices for breaking the law by attending parties during lockdown. There were renewed calls for their resignations.
On May 12th, 2022, a month on from the revelations about Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak, 50 additional fixed penalty notices were given out by the Metropolitan Police, they stated that more fines would be issued and that the investigation would continue.
Debate On Misleading Parliament
On April 19th, 2022, the Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle allowed a debate on the actions of Boris Johnson with a debate in whether they believed he misled parliament in December 2021 in response to the initial revelations.
On the same day, the Prime Minister led a statement where in which he apologised for breaking the law and receiving a fixed penalty notice and responded to questions from the MPs.
The debate was held on April 23rd, 2022, the vote was passed unanimously by the House of Commons which triggered the investigation to go ahead. It was later confirmed that it wouldn't take place until after the local elections which will be held on May 5th, 2022.
May-June 2022
Secret Sue Gray Meeting
On May 20th, 2022, Sky News reported that a meeting between Boris Johnson and Sue Gray took place in April 2022. The story was broke by Sky News and was confirmed by the UK Government. (see below)
BREAKING: Sky News has learnt that Sue Gray and Boris Johnson had a private meeting to discuss the handling of the partygate report.
Sky's @SamCoatesSky has more 👇https://t.co/LqueFTyt5S
📺 Sky 501, Virgin 602, Freeview 233 and YouTube pic.twitter.com/dKAJfZMdvk— Sky News (@SkyNews) May 20, 2022
On May 23rd, 2022, it was reported that Boris Johnson had encouraged Sue Gray to drop the report at the meeting held in April. (see below)
Report suggests PM told civil servant "it’s all out there" already. https://t.co/GbfQBmNCNT
— HuffPost UK Politics (@HuffPostUKPol) May 24, 2022
ITV News Photo Leaks
On May 23rd, 2022, four photos of a gathering held at 10 Downing Street were leaked by ITV News which showed Boris Johnson in attendance. It is stated that they are from a gathering held on November 13th, 2020.
EXCL: @ITVNews has obtained pictures of Boris Johnson drinking at a No10 party during lockdown in November 2020.
The photos cast fresh doubt on the PM's repeated claims he was unaware of rule-breaking in No10 during the pandemic.
See all images here:https://t.co/sUJiWpxqmm pic.twitter.com/iXopuPIQu7— Paul Brand (@PaulBrandITV) May 23, 2022
It was revealed that fines were given in relation to the gathering by Operation Hillman, the investigation by the Metropolitan Police into Partygate but none were given to Boris Johnson.
Following on from the photo leaks, it was reported that more 'incriminating photographs' would be released in the final Sue Gray report.
Panorama Documentary
On May 24th, 2022, a Panorama documentary was released by the BBC presented by their political editor Laura Kueensberg which looked into the parties in Downing Street. The documentary showed interviews with staff from Downing Street who revealed that social distancing rules were broken, that there was litter throughout the building and people staying overnight. and parties taking place every Friday. (see below)
"They were every week… wine time Fridays"
Insiders who attended lockdown gatherings in Downing Street tell @bbcLauraK that social events were held regularly and the prime minister was there "grabbing a glass for himself"https://t.co/qHfjNOmQFO pic.twitter.com/KQP9SQCO3J— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) May 24, 2022
After the documentary finished, the Daily Mirror reported that another party was held on November 17th, 2022, which wasn't investigated by the Metropolitan Police or Sue Gray.
EXCLUSIVE: Damning new Partygate photo of No10 leaving do where staff were told 'the bar's open!'https://t.co/RCoIVkoj8R pic.twitter.com/U6olUaUdj9
— Mirror Politics (@MirrorPolitics) May 24, 2022
Vote of Confidence
On January 18th, 2022, it was alleged that letters of no confidence in Boris Johnson were sent to the 1922 Committee, a group of backbench Conservative MPs. If 54 letters are reached, it then triggers a vote of no confidence in their party leader. If Boris Johnson has lost confidence, then a leadership challenge is triggered, if he has not lost confidence, he remains in post for a year.
On February 2nd, 2022, three Conservative MPs, Tobias Ellwood, Anthony Mangnall and Sir Gary Streeter, publicly revealed that they submitted letters of no confidence in Boris Johnson.
Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, some Conservative MPs who submitted letters to the committee withdrew as they believed that the leadership would be needed in response to the crisis.
It was reported that speculation of a confidence vote would take place after the elections in May if the results are bad for the Conservative Party and if there are more fines.
On June 6th, 2022, Sir Graham Brady, the chair of the committee, announced that the 54 letter threshold had been reached and that a vote of no confidence was to be held later in the same evening.
The vote resulted in Boris Johnson retaining confidence among Conservative MPs with 211 MPs having confidence whilst 148 didn't. (see below)
Tory MPs bang tables in approval as it's announced that Boris Johnson has won a vote of confidence by a margin of 211 to 148 #NoConfidenceVotehttps://t.co/vkCgC6UXu7 pic.twitter.com/z8Pg9GJ0mn
— The Mirror (@DailyMirror) June 6, 2022
The result showed that 41% of Conservative MPs had no confidence in Boris Johnson, a worse result than Theresa May, John Major and Margaret Thatcher who all had votes of confidence during their premiership.
Potential General Election
In the aftermath of the confidence vote, several Labour MPs called for a general election to be held.
On June 7th, 2022, the leader of the Liberal Democrats called for a vote of no confidence in the government for Boris Johnson's leadership.
Investigations
Sue Gray Investigation
On December 9th, 2021, it was announced that there would be an inquiry the scandal with the aim of reaching a conclusion if restrictions were broken at the alleged gatherings.
The inquiry was originally to be led by Simon Case but he was dropped as the lead investigator after it was revealed that he hosted his own parties in the height of lockdown and Sue Gray was appointed to replace Simon Case as lead investigator of the inquiry.
The inquiry initially looked into three events, two held at 10 Downing Street on November 27th, 2020 and December 18th, 2020, but expanded as more parties were revealed.
The Sue Gray investigation had been criticised as it was reported that it is not expected to find any criminality of the alleged parties, calling for an independent investigation to take place instead.
On January 31st, 2022, Sue Gray's report was sent to the Prime Minister and was released on the same day which concluded that there was failures of leadership and that there were no justifications for gatherings to take place. A final report detailing all events is to be released after the Metropolitan Police concludes their investigation.
On the same day, it was revealed that 300 photographs and 500 documents were submitted to the police.
On April 24th, 2022, The Times reported that a Whitehall source said the final Sue Gray report, which is due to release after the conclusion of the Metropolitan Police investigation, is very critical of Boris Johnson and that it could be enough to end the premiership of Boris Johnson.
After the report was released, Boris Johnson made a statement in the House of Commons stating that changes would be made in the operations at Downing Street. (see below)
In response to the statement, SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford was ejected from the House of Commons for saying that the Prime Minister misled parliament. (see below)
In response to the statement, Labour leader Keir Starmer attacked Boris Johnson on the report and the police investigation into the parties. Boris Johnson replied that the country would rather have a leader, rather than lawyer in charge, referring to Keir Starmer's profession, Boris Johnson attacked Keir Starmer for allegedly failing to prosecute Jimmy Saville when he was director of public prosecution (see below). This was later fact checked and reported that there was no evidence of such claim.
Boris Johnson just dropped the Jimmy Saville bomb on Starmer! 🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/iTE27oijUO
— Danny Tommo (@MrDannyTommo) January 31, 2022
On February 3rd, 2022, victims of Jimmy Saville called for Boris Johnson to withdraw his claim that he made in the House of Commons and on the same day, Boris Johnson backed down on the claims he made and said that he would clarify. During a press briefing with Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, he stated that he wouldn't have said that.
On February 7th, 2022, Keir Starmer and Labour MP David Lammy were targeted by protestors who referred to the Prime Minister's claims regarding Keir Starmer failing to investigate Jimmy Saville.
On February 3rd, 2022, four of Boris Johnson's closest advisers resigned due to the scandal: Dan Rosenfield and Martin Reynolds both tendered their resignations as part of the clear out in the wake of the report, Jack Doyle resigned citing family reasons and Munira Mirza, who resigned in response to the Jimmy Saville jibe the Prime Minister made.
With the Metropolitan Police finishing their investigation on May 19th, 2022, the final Sue Gray report released on May 25th, 2022.
Operation Hillman
On December 6th, 2021, the Metropolitan Police stated that they would review the footage of the video leak to see if there would be any evidence to trigger an investigation. The next day, the Metropolitan Police announced that they would not carry out an investigation which they cited due to a lack of evidence.
The Metropolitan Police faced criticism from the public and there were calls for Cressida Dick, the head of the Metropolitan Police to resign due to the lack of action when evidence was presented through social media.
On December 17th, 2021, prosecutors stated that it was unlawful for the Metropolitan Police not to investigate despite there being significant evidence to work with.
The same month, it was announced that the Met Police were to be taken to court by the Good Law Project over their failings to investigate the parties.
During the revelations in January 2022, the Met Police were criticised further for stating that they wouldn't investigate the new revelations due to lack of evidence. Despite this, they stated that they would wait for the Sue Gray report to be released before deciding an investigation would take place.
On January 25th, 2022, Cressida Dick announced that an investigation into the parties would take place, triggering "Operation Hillman". Boris Johnson stated that he would be happy to talk to the police regarding the events held at Downing Street.
On February 9th, 2022, a new photo was leaked by the Daily Mirror which showed Boris Johnson with two aides next to a champagne bottle during the Christmas Zoom party held on December 15th, 2020. After the leak, the Met Police extended their inquiry and would take evidence from the 50 people who attended the party both in person and virtually, including the Prime Minister.
On February 10th, 2022, the Met Police commissioner Cressida Dick resigned due to a string of controversies during her tenure, one being the Partygate scandal. The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan had stated that he lost confidence in her leadership and thus she made a decision to resign.
On May 19th, 2022, the Metropolitan Police announced that they concluded their investigation which resulted in 126 fixed penalty notices and that no further action would be taken against the Prime Minister in relation to their investigation.
Reaction
After the leak of the mock press briefing, many people raised their frustrations at the leak – this due to the fact that because England was placed in lockdown, many families couldn't come together for Christmas and some also never got to say goodbye to relatives who died from Covid. Many took to social media to share their stories about losing loved ones and the sacrifices they made.
Impact on opinion polling and elections
Opinion polls since the leak showed the Conservative Party falling in support with the Labour Party increasing in support and Boris Johnson's personal ratings had declined considerably. By January 2022, polls had the Conservatives down to 27% and Labour up to 42%, the latter being the highest in nine years.
The scandal was a major factor in the Conservative's loss in the North Shropshire by-election, held on December 16th, 2021. The constituency was a Conservative hold for almost 200 years. At the by-election, the 27,000 majority was overturned and was won by Helen Morgan, the Liberal Democrat candidate. This result was produced due to tactical voting from mainly Labour Party and the Green Party voters who voted for Helen Morgan as she was favourite to win against the Conservatives.
Ahead of the United Kingdom local elections in 2022 which is the first major election held since the revelations of Partygate, several Conservative politicians and supporters cited that the fallout from Partygate could play a factor in the party losing seats in councils across the country. On April 14th, 2022, a poll from Electoral Calculus and Find Out Now was released which showed that the Conservative Party could lose 800 seats at the election.
At the election, the Conservatives lost 485 seats. In Scotland, the Scottish Conservatives lost 63 seats and Scottish Labour replaced them as the second-largest party, their leader Douglas Ross cited Partygate was a major factor in the cause of losses.
Twitter Hashtags
- #JohnsonOut – After the allegations were released, the hashtag #JohnsonOut started trending on social media, mainly on Twitter where social media users called for Boris Johnson's resignation. The hashtag has continued to trend on Twitter as of April 2022 with the day number added next to the hashtag. By the time of the local elections on May 5th, 2022, one hundred days of the hashtag trending on Twitter was reached.
- #GeneralElectionNow – After the vote of confidence in Boris Johnson, #GeneralElectionNow started to trend on the platform which had Twitter users call for a general election to be called.
Political Reactions
After the story was first leaked by The Mirror, the official response to the report was that "Covid rules have been followed at all times". Boris Johnson denied that any rules were broken, and a spokesperson denied that a party occurred.
On December 7th, 2021, at the first Prime Minister's Questions since the scandal emerged took place. At the start, Boris Johnson apologised for the leak of the video from ITV News.[1]
Labour leader Keir Starmer told Boris Johnson to apologise for covering it up although he received criticism for not telling Boris Johnson to resign.[2] (see below)
Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Nicola Sturgeon said that questions would need to be answered and said that if it was found that Boris Johnson misled parliament, he should resign [3] whilst the leader of the SNP in the House of Commons, Ian Blackford, called for Boris Johnson to resign.[4] (see below)
Dominic Cummings, the former aide to Boris Johnson confirmed that such parties did take place. On December 10th, 2021, he stated that he had photographic evidence of such party which would see the light of day. This was again stated in The Times a day later.
At the first Prime Minister's Questions since the video was leaked, Members of Parliament voiced their thoughts on the leak (see below)
After it was revealed that there was another party held on May 20th, 2020, the "BYOB Party", politicians across the political spectrum expressed anger and sadness of the revelations. Ian Blackford had called for Boris Johnson to resign over the new leaks and Keir Starmer later followed.
In Scotland, in response to a question during a Covid statement to the Scottish Parliament, First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon had said that the decent thing for Boris Johnson to do was resign amid the revelations. Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar wrote to Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross. Douglas Ross responded that Boris Johnson should resign if he was found to have attended the May 20th party, which Boris Johnson admitted happened the next day. (see below)
During that week's Prime Ministers Questions, Keir Starmer called on Boris Johnson to resign, echoed across the House of Commons.
Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross had called for Boris Johnson to resign, this was followed in endorsement by Scottish Conservative MSPs. Conservative MPs Jacob Rees-Mogg and Michael Cove criticised Douglas Ross with the former calling him 'a lightweight'. (see below)
"“Douglas Ross has always been quite a lightweight figure”
Jacob Rees-Mogg MP says the Secretary of State for Scotland “is a much more substantial and important figure in this”#Newsnight https://t.co/1eE9taAED5 pic.twitter.com/9aala8jM1s— BBC Newsnight (@BBCNewsnight) January 12, 2022
The Sky News interview with Beth Rigby was criticised due to the performance Boris Johnson made when interviewed. A few Conservative backbenchers wrote letters into the 1922 Committee calling for a vote of no confidence whilst others called for him to immediately resign.
On January 19th, 2022, during that week's Prime Minister's Questions, Conservative MP David Davis had called for the Prime Minister to go which was a shock among his colleagues. Boris Johnson responded by saying that he didn't know what he was on about. (see below)
The defection of Christian Wakeford responded with mixed reactions from Labour and the SNP. Young Labour, the youth wing of the party criticised the move due to Christian's voting record and whilst the SNP also criticised his voting record and made the argument that Labour and the Conservatives were two sides on the same coin.
In response to the blackmail accusations, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon called for an independent investigation to be conducted into the claims addressed by William Wagger. (see below)
NEW: Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) says she's 'shocked' by 'gravely serious' allegations of bullying against UK Government whips.
The First Minister calls for an independent invstigation.
Full story: https://t.co/PaFSOapioj pic.twitter.com/bu3CsHP6US— Representing Border (@ITVBorderRB) January 20, 2022
In response to the Sue Gray report, opposition leaders criticised that the full report couldn't be released.
On February 8th, 2022, the day after Keir Starmer and David Lammy were targeted by protestors, Conservative MPs called on Boris Johnson to withdraw his statement alongwith Nicola Sturgeon, the First Minister of Scotland.
In response to the targeted abuse towards Keir Starmer and David Lammy, Boris Johnson condemned the incident but refused to withdraw the statement.
In response to Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak receiving fixed penalties, there were calls for resignations by the First Ministers of Scotland and Wales, Labour leader Keir Starmer, SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford, the Lib Dems leader Ed Davey and other opposition parties.
Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross defended the Prime Minister and stated that he should remain in post as a result of the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict. He received backlash from other parties. The First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon criticised Douglas Ross for using the war in Ukraine as an excuse to defend the Prime Minister.
Cultural Reactions
The controversy made headlines in the news and featured on several programmes and media outlets.
The scandal featured on the 10 December 2021 episode of Have I Got News for You and the reality TV show, I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here.
Parody videos
Parody videos in response to the scandal were added to social media platforms, two of the most notable were one created by Spoofed of Boris Johnson at a press conference outside Downing Street as Wham's "Last Christmas" played in the background which panned out to show notable Conservative Party politicians dancing and celebrating. (see below)
Another video was released on Twitter by The Agitator which showed an edited Downing Street's windows being lit up with laser lights with Cool and the Gang's "Celebrate Good Times" being played. It received 9,400 likes and 3,400 retweets. (see below)
— The Agitator (@Agitate4Change) December 7, 2021
On January 13th, 2022, an edited video which showed Boris Johnson being added on to the panel of the BBC comedy panel show, Would I Lie To You? was shared onto social media. (see below)
Just been sent this 😂 pic.twitter.com/ambQHqvVZg
— Scouse_Ma (@Scouse_MaTweet) January 14, 2022
Line of Duty parody videos
Since the revelations of the scandal, the Twitter channel, Led by Donkeys created several videos using clips from the British television series, Line of Duty where in which the main detectives interview Boris Johnson on issues relating to the scandal.
The first video was released on January 16th, 2022, when an edited video which showed Boris Johnson being interrogated by the officers was posted onto Twitter. (see below)
Sneak peak of Line of Duty series 7 pic.twitter.com/52nxie0Czz
— Jake McBain (@JakeMC_) January 16, 2022
"Evening, Prime Minister!"
During the 2021 series of I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Here!, hosts Ant and Dec poked fun of the controversy by indirectly referencing it whilst connecting it to the context of the programme. It ended with Dec shouting, "Evening Prime Minister!" (see below)
Ant and Dec’s “Evening, Prime Minister!” moments have been incredible this series #imaceleb pic.twitter.com/woQy5LIDXa
— Ryan Love (@RyanJL74) December 7, 2021
The One Show's Dan Stevens Comment
On April 13th, 2022, the day following on from Boris Johnson receiving a fine for breaking the lockdown rules, Dan Stevens appeared on The One Show to promote a new television series he was starring in which centres around Richard Nixon and the Watergate scandal. When asked about the details of the film, he said: "What you’ve got is a criminal for a leader who is wrapped in a messy war, embroiled in a stupid scandal and surrounded by ambitious idiots and really should resign" before stopping and continuing on to say, "I’m sorry that’s the intro to Boris Johnson.” (see below)
STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING AND WATCH THIS MOMENT FROM THE ONE SHOW pic.twitter.com/UwRFpQ8YpM
— Scott Bryan (@scottygb) April 13, 2022
The video was posted onto Twitter by Scott Bryan which received 107,800 likes and 32,500 retweets within three hours.
Related Memes
Allegra Stratton Image Macros
After the resignation video of Allegra Stratton was put online, users on social media started using screenshots of an upset Allegra Stratton and making pictures and image macros out of them, applying the likes of "How it started, how its going" and also common uses of everyday British culture.
Boris Johnson Quiz Questions
After the revelation of the Christmas quiz held on December 15th, 2020, many on social media started to create humorous questions in response to the leaked picture of Boris Johnson at Downing Street participating in a Christmas quiz.
Sue Gray Tweets
After the January 2022 revelations of parties, people started to create memes of Sue Gray and shared them on Twitter as a humorous narrative that her work investigating the scandal would never end due to more parties being revealed by the media.
Sir Norman Fry Parodies
During the first months of the scandal, social media users parodied the Little Britain sketch of Sir Norman Fry, a fictional politician portrayed by comedian David Walliams, where they used snippets and references of Boris Johnson's speeches and claims in the context of the scandal. (see below)
"Nobody Told Me"
"Nobody Told Me" refers to a phrase that was used by Boris Johnson in an interview with Beth Rigby from Sky News on January 18th, 2022, where she questioned him about the allegations and claimed that he did not know rules were in place. In response, users on social media parodied the phrase and used it in various contexts (see below).
Ambushed by Cake
On January 25th, 2022, during an interview with Conservative Party minister Conor Burns, he claimed that Boris Johnson was 'ambushed by cake' which led to social media ridicule with the hashtag #AmbushedByCake trending in the UK.
Other Incidents
Beergate
Beergate refers to a political controversy related to the Partygate scandal in response to an alleged breach of COVID-19 pandemic legal restrictions at a gathering in a Labour Party office in Durham, England, on April 30th, 2021.
During the campaign period before the 2021 Hartlepool by-election, at a time when legal restrictions on gatherings were in force, Labour Party leader Keir Starmer, together with up to fifteen other Labour party members, ate takeaway curry and drank beer in the office kitchen. Deputy leader Angela Rayner had also been present in the building.
On May 6th, 2022 Durham Constabulary announced that an investigation was being conducted.
Search Interest
External References
[1] BBC News – Boris Johnson sorry for offence caused by aides joking about lockdown party'
[2] Evening Standard – Starmer claims PM has been caught 'red-handed' on Number 10 Christmas party scandal'
[3] The Scotsman – Nicola Sturgeon urges Boris Johnson to 'come clean' over reported party'
[4] The Independent – Boris Johnson told by SNP he must resign over No 10 party: ‘Moment of moral reckoning'
