CONSERVATIVE PARTY LOSES POLL LEAD AFTER JOHNSON’S CHRISTMAS PARTY SCANDAL

Fri 10 December 2021:

After a video of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Christmas party during last year’s lockdown went viral, the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom lost its poll lead.

A YouGov poll for The Times newspaper showed Johnson’s Conservatives had lost their lead, dropping 3 percentage points from Dec. 2 to 33 per cent of the vote while Labour rose 4 percentage points to 37 per cent.

Survation found Labour with 40% of the vote, up one percentage point, and Johnson’s Conservatives with 34%, down two points.

After Downing Street Press Secretary Allegra Stratton resigned, Johnson’s party was shaken even more.

Three quarters of people believe that there was a Christmas party in which coronavirus rules were broken and 68% of those polled believe Johnson was not telling the truth when he denied it, The Times said.

Johnson imposed restrictions on England on Wednesday, just hours after apologising for a video apparently showing staff laughing about a party in Downing Street during a 2020 Christmas Covid-19 lockdown when such festivities were banned.

Downing Street had denied a party took place. Johnson said he was furious about the impression the video gave that there was one rule for those at the heart of British power and another for the people.

A majority of people now believe Johnson should resign, according to many recent polls.

The Conservative Party had previously been fined $23,500 for failing to properly report a $90,000 donation when it was used to support a renovation at Johnson’s official house.

Johnson has come under fire recently for his handling of a sleaze controversy and a claim that he intervened to guarantee that pets were evacuated from Kabul during the chaotic Western evacuation in August.

Matt Hancock resigned as health secretary in June after being photographed in a sensual clinch with an employee, breaking the social distance norms he advised everyone to obey.

Dominic Cummings, Johnson’s former closest assistant, drew outrage when he drove across the country while suffering from Covid symptoms during the first lockdown.

Johnson imposed new COVID restrictions on England on Wednesday, angering the libertarian wing of his party.

Dozens of Conservative lawmakers are planning to oppose the new rules in a vote in parliament next week.

“I expect a record number of Conservative MPs to vote against these latest restrictions,” said John Redwood, a Conservative lawmaker.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

_____________________________________________________________________________

FOLLOW INDEPENDENT PRESS:

TWITTER (CLICK HERE)
https://twitter.com/IpIndependent