Partygate: the dates of the scandal that weakens Boris Johnson

Published on: 06/06/2022 – 15:01 He confessed, he apologized, but he refuses to resign. The Partygate scandal, which revealed that parties were organized in Downing Street in full containment, has dogged Boris Johnson for months. From now on, the British Prime Minister must face, on Monday, a motion of no confidence within his own party. A look back at this affair which has greatly affected the popularity of “BoJo”. Exasperation has won the ranks of the Tories: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will face a vote of no confidence from Conservative Party MPs on Monday, June 6. In question, the Partygate scandal, which revealed the holding of several parties in Downing Street while the United Kingdom was subject to strict confinement. The popularity of Boris Johnson has plummeted since these revelations, to the point that boos were addressed to him when he appeared during celebrations for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee over the weekend. The Prime Minister, however, rules out resigning and Monday’s vote, if it turns out to his advantage, is presented by its teams as a way of “drawing a line” on Partygate and “moving on to something else”. Chronological review of these embarrassing festive gatherings organized in Downing Street and their consequences. A surprise birthday party is organized in the Prime Minister’s honor in Downing Street. Up to 30 people take part, according to ITV. A spokeswoman for Downing Street later claimed that Boris Johnson participated in this “brief gathering” of his collaborators for “less than ten minutes”. A party brings together Boris Johnson’s collaborators at his apartment despite a second confinement. The leader will ensure that “the rules have always been respected”. The Prime Minister, flanked by two collaborators, takes part in an online quiz. After a photo was published by the Daily Mirror, Downing Street admits the leader ‘briefly’ attended the event, stressing it was virtual. A Boris Johnson adviser had to quit after joking, in video went viral, on a party that would have brought together around forty people that day in Downing Street. Calling himself ‘furious’, the Prime Minister claimed he had ‘been assured several times’ since the start of the affair that ‘there had been no party’ and that ‘no rules’ had been breached. According to the Daily Telegraph, two “watered” leaving parties are organized in Downing Street the day before the funeral of Prince Philip, husband of Elizabeth II. These celebrations contrast with the images of the funeral, when the Queen sits alone, at a distance from her loved ones, in the chapel of Windsor Castle. Boris Johnson claims not to have participated in these events – where alcohol was introduced smuggled in a suitcase – for he was at his country residence in Checkers. Downing Street has apologized to the Queen. The main lines of the report by Sue Gray, a senior official responsible for investigating the confinement breaches committed by the Johnson administration, are made public. “There were failures of leadership and judgment by different parts of Downing Street and the Cabinet Office at different times. Some events should not have been allowed,” the report said. Boris Johnson says he accepts the conclusions of the text and promises changes in the functioning of his cabinet, but excludes resignation. Resignation of four influential collaborators of Boris Johnson, involved to varying degrees in the organization of the parties in Downing Street. Boris Johnson is sanctioned for the rally on his birthday: he was fined (50 pounds sterling, or 60 euros, according to the press), unheard of for a Prime Minister in office. The following week, before the House of Commons, he apologized “without reserve”. His wife Carrie and his Minister of Economy and Finance, Rishi Sunak, also received fines. British MPs approved the opening of a parliamentary inquiry into whether Boris Johnson knowingly misled Parliament about Downing Street parties. This is still ongoing in early June. London police announce they have closed the investigation into lockdown breaches at Downing Street and issued a total of 126 fines for eight events involving Boris Johnson and/or his associates, ranging from 20 May 2020 to April 16, 2021. Sue Gray’s report is published in full. The day before, new photos are released to the media, showing Boris Johnson sharing a drink in Downing Street during the confinement in November 2020. “I take full responsibility for everything that happened under my watch”, says the Conservative leader in front of the deputies, renewing his apologies and again excluding resignation. A vote of no confidence is organized within the Conservative Party against Boris Johnson. The chairman of the 1922 Committee within the party, Graham Brady, announces that the threshold of 54 letters from deputies asking for his departure, ie 15% of the parliamentary group, has been reached. If Boris Johnson is defeated, an internal election will have to appoint a new leader for the party, who will become Prime Minister. If he wins, he cannot be targeted by another motion of no confidence for a year.