Boris Johnson will be watching closely tonight as polls close for the North Shropshire By-election.
How badly damaged Prime Minister Owen Paterson has been in the chaos that has engulfed the country over the past week will be evident by his struggle for the seat once held by Owen Paterson.
Following being censured over lobbying, Paterson quit the Commons to become a Conservative MP with an overwhelming majority of 23,000 votes in 2019.
The PM’s crisis was triggered by the failed attempt of No10 to spare him punishment, eventually leading to his resignation.
Liberal Democrats are confident that they can win in an area they previously were a distant third. Two parties remain neck-and-neck in betting.
A victory by Helen Morgan, Lib Dem, would spell doom for Johnson. It will also aggravate the already incendiary animus of backbenchers who are already bitter about further Covid restrictions.
A close win by Neil ShastriHurst, Tory candidate for the nomination would indicate the anger felt by the public over the lockdown rule-breaking allegations made within Downing Street.
Christine Jardine, a spokeswoman for Liberal Democrats, stated that there is’real anger at the Prime Minister’ and added: ‘If it gets a strong vote here tonight in a rural Conservative seat, it’ll send a chill down Boris Johnson’s spine.
How badly damaged Prime Minister Owen Paterson has been in the chaos that has engulfed the country over the last week will be evident by his struggle for the seat once held by Owen Paterson.
Liberal Democrats are confident that they can win in an area they previously were a distant third. Two parties remain neck-and-neck in betting.
A close win by Neil ShastriHurst, Tory candidate for the nomination would indicate the anger felt by the public over the lockdown rule-breaking allegations made within Downing Street.
A victory by Helen Morgan, Lib Dem, would spell doom for Johnson. It will also aggravate the already incendiary animus of backbenchers who are already bitter about further Covid restrictions.
Helen Morgan ran an amazing campaign against a Conservative Party that takes North Shropshireans as granted. Boris Johnson’s government is out of touch and causing real anger.
“If the Conservative Party loses significant numbers of votes tonight, in one of the safest places in the country there will be many Conservative MPs watching their backs tomorrow. This is the first time a Conservative MP has been elected to this place since 1830.
The vote was triggered not only by the Tory sleaze scam, but also after Prime Minister David Cameron was hounded by claims of Downing Street lockdown-breaching parties last Christmas.
New allegations were made tonight against Johnson regarding party affiliations.
The Guardian reported and The Independent that Boris Johnson was in attendance for just 15 minutes following the Covid press conference, May 15, 2020.
In the meantime, the Metropolitan Police stated that they will be in touch with the two persons who participated in a Shaun Bailey London mayoral election at the Conservative Party headquarters in London on 12/12 2020 regarding alleged breaches to coronavirus regulations.
After photos of the incident were published by the Daily Mirror, Mr Bailey has apologized ‘unreservedly.’
Downing Street stated that Mr Johnson met Matt Hancock (then health secretary) in the garden. This was during the summer months.
The Guardian and Independent reported that around 20 employees ate pizza and consumed spirits and wine after Mr Hancock’s press conference. He had advised the British public not to leave the house and said they could meet in public places.
According to one source, the Prime Minister allegedly told an aide they deserved a beverage for “beating back” coronavirus.
He was also subject to a major rebellion Tuesday due to his Omicron coronavirus restriction.
After 24 years representing the constituency, Mr Paterson resigned after the failed attempt by the Prime Minister to protect him from a 30 day suspension.
Christine Jardine, a spokeswoman for Liberal Democrats, stated that there is’real anger at the Prime Minister’ and added: ‘If it gets a strong vote here tonight in a rural Conservative seat, it’ll send a chill down Boris Johnson’s spine.
After 24 years representing the constituency, Mr Paterson resigned after the failed attempt by the Prime Minister to protect him from a 30 day suspension.
Mr Johnson attempted to force a Tory-led review of the rules for MPs after Mr Paterson was found to have breached lobbying rules for two companies paying him £100,000 a year.
The row saw multiple new allegations of sleaze being levelled against the Tories. The MP eventually had to resign because he was unable to leave the “cruel world” of politics.
North Shropshire’s Tory MP has been elected in each vote every time since 1983. This was North Shropshire’s first election under its present form.
However, this area has voted twice for another color since 1830 when the Conservative Party began.
The Tories took 62.7 percent of the votes in the 2019 general elections and won the seat with a majority 22.949 to Labour’s 22,949, while the Lib Dems came in third.
The Lib Dems are the clear favourites according to the bookmakers, but campaigners and activists on the ground think it is close. Leader Sir Ed Davey called it a ‘coin flip’.
Mr Johnson would be in for a difficult time if he loses. He was thrown into turmoil when 100 Conservatives voted against compulsory Covid Health Passes for large venue entry. It is the most rebellious act since Johnson entered No 10.
When asked Wednesday whether Johnson would resign if North Shropshire fell, Johnson’s press secretary stated that he was fighting for every vote.
Expect the results to be released in the early morning of Friday.
Some aides were reported to have continued drinking well into the night. However, there is no evidence that Mr Johnson and Mr Hancock drank alcohol at all or stayed up late.
Spokesman for No. 10 said that Downing Street employees regularly meet in the garden during the summer months.
“On May 15, 2020, the Prime Minister met briefly with the former health and care secretary as well as his staff in the garden after a press conference.
The Prime Minister returned to his residence just after 7pm.
“A few staff members were required to remain in Downing Street for part of afternoon and evening.
Hannah Brady is a spokesperson for Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice. Her father, who died the same day, contracted the virus from which she spoke.
According to her, she first met the PM about a month later after showing him a picture of her father taken that day at the hospital.
The Prime Minister looked me straight in the eyes and assured me that he would do everything to safeguard my father. It was absolutely disgusting,” she stated.
Fleur Anderson from Labour, shadow paymaster general said that ‘It appears that the Prime Minister set a culture whereby he ignored the laws he was applying for the rest of the population.
“People have paid a great deal during this crisis. It’s beginning to look as though the Prime Minister has been a dilettant, partying and trying to erode public trust.
“As it is with Boris Johnson always, it’s just one rule to him and one for us all.
Met Police finally takes action against two ToryHQ Christmas Party attendees. Photo showed that staffers and London’s mayor candidate Shaun Bailey were crammed in a room, but they still refuse to probe the No10 bash.
The Met Police has announced it will speak to two attendees of the lockdown-busting party hosted at the Tory Party Headquarters last December.
Some have criticized the force for not taking action on allegations of gatherings at Downing Street. They also criticised it. The news was announced by the force Thursday night.
After photos showed that Shaun Bailey was breaking rules during his mayoral campaign, the incident occurred at Westminster headquarters on December 14, 2020.
Matt Hancock (then-Health Secretary) had earlier announced London would become subject to Tier 3 restrictions. This means that separate houses could not be mixed indoors.
Downing Street employees joined the party. The event saw them dance until the wee hours, in spite of London’s Covid ban on indoor socializing at that time.
Following a week-long struggle to quit, Bailey finally gave in. He was followed by four employees who were disciplined after the “raucous” gathering. A door was reportedly damaged.
Photographs showed that Shaun Bailey broke a number of rules during his mayoral campaign. It took place at the Westminster Headquarters on December 14, 2020.
Ex-mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey has quit as chairman of the London Assembly’s police and crime committee following revelations of a Chistmas gathering he attended last year, in breach of Covid regulations
The image was taken at Conservative Party headquarters last December and shows Bailey, the 50-year-old, in the middle with 24 others. There were platters of food around.
It is believed that Mr Bailey (teetotal) left the party in the early hours of the evening after taking the photograph.
He took to Twitter eight days later to remind people that the rules were strict and that they should be followed.
Labour, Lib Dems and Green Party members of the London Assembly sent Cressida Dick a letter to demand an investigation.
The partygoers don’t wear masks, although some are seen with billionaire Tory donor Nick Candy raising drinks to toast the occasion. Tier 2 restrictions meant that millions of Londoners would have to be self-isolated.
At the time Britain was in the grip of a second lockdown, and London later in Tier 3 restrictions, with all indoor social gatherings banned unless they involved a single household bubble.
The Met Chief Cressida Dick stated that she would not investigate any allegations, despite widespread protests.
Today, however, the Met said that it had received “significant amounts of correspondence” relating to claims that Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions) Regulations at Downing Street were violated in November and December 2020.
Simon Case, Cabinet Secretary, is investigating the attendance of politicians at a number of events in November and Dec 2020.
Scotland Yard will receive any evidence arising from the Cabinet Office inquiry that might indicate that actions could have been deemed criminal offenses.
A Met spokesperson stated in a statement that the Met had received significant material related to media reports.
Detectives have reviewed all the information and found that it doesn’t provide any evidence to support a violation of the Health Protection Regulations. Instead, the report refutes media claims.
The Met knows about a meeting at Matthew Parker Street SW1 in December 2020.
Two people were present at the scene in connection to allegations of breaches of Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) Regulations.
Some have criticized the Met for not taking action on alleged gatherings at Downing Street. The Met announced that it would interview two people who attended the Tory Party Headquarters lockdown-busting party.
“In accordance with our policy, wherein we don’t normally investigate breaches to these regulations after they have been reported, unless evidence is provided by the Cabinet Office, or any other evidence, the Met won’t at this point commence an investigation.
Last night’s interview with Dan Wootton from MailOnline, Bailey apologized for his attendance at the party. He called it a’mistake of judgment’.
He then claimed that the group was in a workplace bubble and that he was there only to gather paperwork for an interview on BBC Newsnight.
While he maintained that he wasn’t there for the photograph, he admitted to regretting not telling his colleagues that he had gone too far.
GB News was told by him that he wanted to apologize for the error.
“I would like to have that. They were a young group that had been hard at work for many months. When I got back from an event they were all set and ready to go. After speaking with them, we made the famous photo.
“I wish I would have said at that moment, “hold on, we are straying here. We’re going to too far,” but that was not what I did. I wanted that, because I knew that I could trust my senior team members, but that is me and that should be my responsibility. That’s all I want.
“The second thing is that, although we were inside a bubble of work, working together felt very natural.
A spokesperson for Conservative Party stated that senior CCHQ staff were aware of an unauthorised gathering at the basement [CCHQ]The Bailey Campaign organised the party on the night of 14 December.
“Formal disciplinary actions were taken against four CCHQ employees who were seconded for the Bailey campaign.”