It's a tricky one, this thing with Boris.
He's definitely lost the trust of a lot of people over what's called Partygate, but which, in my view, wasn't quite as bad as it seemed. I don't see that there was all that much partying going on. Because the government was still running as it had to, these were folks who were already working in the same space. Sometimes they relaxed in the sorts of ways people do in offices. Someone has a birthday. Someone else brings a cake. Someone brings a bottle of wine because it's not a prison. Rules are difficult to interpret and enforce in that situation. They probably broke rules, but in a grey area of interpration in an unusually populated environment.
I understand people's concerns. Especially those who were unable to say goodbye to dying loved ones.
But in some ways, I think we should be a little more generous, because they were brave enough to keep working together and keeping the country going when people seemed to be dropping like flies. Boris actually had covid so I doubt he was blase about it himself.
His contribution to what was called partying was more that he didn't say stop than that he was carousing. But leaving people to be responsible themselves and not nannying them is not a huge fault.
Even so, he is perceived to be dishonest because he perhaps turned a blind eye to the situation and portrayed himself as oblivious to any wrongdoing. Maybe a lie. I don't know.
There's also something else going on. The MPs that want us back in the EU are using Partygate as a stalking horse.
And I don't want to be in the EU, so of course I'm against it. He's done the other big things well in my view. Particularly vaccine development and Ukraine.
He may lose. He might also lose the next election. But I don't see an obvious candidate to replace him yet.
I suspect he has the numbers today.
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