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| Boris relaxing quietly at home |
It is quite simple. The Prime Minister has broken a law that he introduced. It was not a minor little infraction, it was brought in to safeguard the health of the nation. What could be more important?
It is now beyond doubt that Boris Johnson and his staff flouted this on numerous occasions. His Chancellor also took part in the merry making. I lost an aunty and a cousin to the pandemic. I couldn't attend my aunt's funeral and we couldn't hold a proper wake for my cousin. Yet Boris and Rishi partied away. What sort of example have they set? What message have they sent? The fine is meaningless to the pair of them, they are rich men.
The Conservative party needs to take a long hard look at itself. If they allow these two to continue in their jobs, then they have sent a clear message that the law simply doesn't matter. Once that message is sent, we've opened the door to anarchy and mob(ster) rule. You may think "well, he isn't too keen on the Conservative Party so he would say that", but perhaps the most iconic post war Conservative Prime Minister, Lady Thatcher would have strongly agreed with me. Heaven only knows what she'd have made of it all.
A timely reminder! pic.twitter.com/2wPQPt0B0j
— Lucy Brazier OBE (@lucybrazier) April 13, 2022
The repercussions of that are enormous. I don't want to live in a country where the rule of law is ignored. If we've given up on the concept of the rule of law, the UK is finished. If the rules can be flouted by those rich enough to pay fines with impunity, we are no better than despotic, tin pot regimes, where there is one law for the ruling class and another for everyone else. A Prime Minister should set an example. Sadly the one he's set is appalling. Not only did he break the law, he leid to Parliament about it. If you think breaking the law doesn't matter, don't complain when someone steals your car or punches you in the face. When we start saying "this law doesn't matter" then we are on a rocky road.
Some may argue that there is a case for disobeying demonstrably unjust laws. But if the covid laws were unjust, why did Boris Johnson, as Prime Minister pass them? I was under the impression they were passed to save us from a deadly virus. That is why we, as a nation bought into them. I have no regrets for observing the laws, but I simply cannot imagine anyone being so sensible should a new variant require another lockdown, which I pray to the good Lord doesn't happen.
Politicians introduced penalties for exceeding the speed limit. So are we saying that any government minister who gets caught for exceeding the speed limit should resign ?
ReplyDeleteFraser
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure you know that is an idiotic comment. I am pretty sure you remember Boris Johnson and his ministers imploring us to follow the rules every night on TV. I'm pretty sure you realise that there was a global pandemic and these laws were passed to keep people safe. The only thing I am not pretty sure about is why you have made such a silly point?
Regards
Rog
Rog, clearly you and I live on a different planet. Yes, BoJo has behaved badly, but I don't happen to think his transgression is a resigning matter. Of course, in a General Election, the voters can make their minds up on many things.
ReplyDeleteThe reason I mention speeding is because we are constantly told how bad it is to exceed the speed limit, yet I have never seen a politician resign office when caught at it.
For me, it is the law the same as the Covid laws, and if you want to demand resignations every time a politician gets caught in a minor way breaking the law passed by Parliament then say so. Wil you be so angry when a future Labour minister gets caught ? I suspect not.
Fraser
ReplyDeleteFirstly, What makes you think I support the Labour party? I'd suggest you read people's profile before making silly comments. I don't. Secondly, this 'minor trangression' narrative is false. You do recall that the whole country shut down? I had to close my business for four months on pain of fines of thousands of pounds. These laws were passed to prevent the NHS becoming overwhelmed. The speeding ticket analogy may suit you but is totally facetious. I am interested that you think it's Ok for ministers to ignore speed limits, but it is in no way equivalent, as the laws weren't rushed in to prevent a breakdown of the NHS. If you cannot see the difference, I am not going to persuade you. We all live on the same planet and it works best when people follow the rule of law. You may think it's OK for a Prime Minister to bring in a swathe of emergency legislation, that affected the the lives of everyone in the country, then totally ignore them. I don't. And if you re-read the blog, which I've updated, neither did Margaret Thatcher, who as I recall was a Conservative