Boris Johnson Covid Restrictions What Brits Wanted

When Boris Johnson led the Conservative Party to victory in 2019, he delivered the biggest Tory majority since 1987. Though the prime minister had enemies within party ranks, the overwhelming attitude toward him was one of loyalty and hope for the future. Just a few years later, and Johnson is in the political fight for his life. What happened?

The media explanation is “Partygate.” That is, the string of illicit parties — illicit by the government’s own standards at the time — that took place on Downing Street between May 2020 and April 2021. There are two main reasons for the outrage this has caused. One, being political, is easier to understand — mostly faux outrage by Tory MPs who believe that Johnson has become a liability, rather than an asset, and that this may be the best opportunity to get rid of him ahead of the next election. The second is, as my colleague Andrew Stuttaford has described, public anger: “the importance that Brits attach to everyone ‘doing their bit’ during a national emergency.”

About the Author

Madeleine Kearns

Madeleine Kearns is a former staff writer at National Review.

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When Boris Johnson led the Conservative Party to victory in 2019, he delivered the biggest Tory majority since 1987. Though the prime minister had enemies within party ranks, the overwhelming attitude toward him was one of loyalty and hope for the future. Just a few years later, and Johnson is in the political fight for his life. What happened?

The media explanation is “Partygate.” That is, the string of illicit parties — illicit by the government’s own standards at the time — that took place on Downing Street between May 2020 and April 2021. There are two main reasons for the outrage this has caused. One, being political, is easier to understand — mostly faux outrage by Tory MPs who believe that Johnson has become a liability, rather than an asset, and that this may be the best opportunity to get rid of him ahead of the next election. The second is, as my colleague Andrew Stuttaford has described, public anger: “the importance that Brits attach to everyone ‘doing their bit’ during a national emergency.”