Party backlash will be akin to expenses fiasco, says Starmer
Johnson’s flagrant rule breaches are poisoning the well of democracy, says Labour leader
BORIS JOHNSON is “poisoning the well” of British democracy with his behaviour over allegedly illicit parties in Downing Street, Sir Keir Starmer has warned, claiming that the Prime Minister’s handling of the crisis risked a backlash akin to the fallout over the 2009 MPs’ expenses scandal.
Sir Keir, who has called for the Prime Minister to resign over the scandal, alleged that Mr Johnson “flagrantly breaks the rules” and then “drags as many into the gutter with him by forcing them to defend his rule breaking”.
He said: “That way the rules themselves are undermined. Cynicism about politics replaces confidence and trust. The taunt that politicians are all in it for themselves becomes accepted wisdom.”
A source close to the Labour leader said he feared that the ramifications of the series of revelations about parties at No10 despite Covid restrictions, could be similar to the fallout from The Daily Telegraph’s revelations about MPs’ routine abuse of the expenses system, more than 12 years ago. Labour has also repeatedly criticised Mr Johnson over the redecoration of his official Downing Street residence, which was funded by Lord David Brownlow, a Conservative donor and peer.
Sir Keir said of Mr Johnson: “He flagrantly breaks the rules. He flagrantly attacks those in charge of enforcing the rules. When he is called out, he then drags as many into the gutter with him by forcing them to defend his rule breaking.
“That way the rules themselves are undermined. Cynicism about politics replaces confidence and trust. The taunt that politicians are all in it for themselves becomes accepted wisdom.
“That mistrust suits Johnson just fine. If all politicians are all as bad as each other he can be as bad as he likes. But it’s not fine for our democracy. It only serves to convince people that things cannot get better, that Government cannot improve people’s lives, and that progress is not possible because politics does not work.
“But in the right hands, used in the right way and for the right reasons, politics can work, it can be a noble cause to build a better country and a better world. Everyone who cares about our democracy has a vital interest in restoring belief in that truth. But it can’t happen whilst Boris Johnson and his politics of cynicism are poisoning the well of our democracy.”
Yesterday, the Labour leader again called on the Prime Minister to resign, saying to do so would be in the “national interest” as he has “lost the moral authority to lead”.
“We’ve got a Prime Minister who is absent – he is literally in hiding at the moment and unable to lead, so that’s why I’ve concluded that he has got to
‘He flagrantly breaks the rules and then drags many into the gutter with him to defend his rule-breaking’
go,” he said at the Fabian Society conference in London.
A poll by Find Out Now put Labour on 41 per cent, 14 points ahead of the Conservatives as Sir Keir’s party had its lead increase by six points in a month.
In an attempt to set clear dividing lines between Labour and the current Government, Sir Keir said the party would continue to oppose a rise in national insurance as well as further lockdowns.
“I don’t want the Government ever again to have to place tough restrictions on our lives, our livelihoods, and our liberties,” he said.
The Labour leader also outlined several policies including a five point plan on social care, a plan for “living with Covid”, treating mental health as seriously as physical health, and reducing NHS waiting times to 18 weeks by recruiting more staff.