Matt Walker, Vice Chair of the Liberal Democrats in Harrogate and Knaresborough wrote to Andrew Jones MP, Member of Parliament for Harrogate and Knaresborough last night urging him to join the calls for Boris Johnson’s resignation.
Commenting, Matt Walker said:
Yesterday we heard an evasive apology from the Prime Minister for hosting a garden party at the height of lockdown. This is just one of many recent allegations made about Government representatives and officials breaking the rules during the pandemic, but none so clear cut as the occasion on 20th May 2020.
At that moment the nation remained frightened of the virus. The death toll was climbing. Pubs and many shops were closed. But it gets worse than that. Local residents were deprived of precious final moments with family and loved ones and were forced to attend funerals via Zoom.
How, especially at this moment in the pandemic, the Prime Minister thought it appropriate for a bring your own booze bash in his back garden is totally beyond every reasonable person I know.
Our MP must say enough is enough from the PM and all those who attended this party and call for their removal.
Letter to Andrew Jones MP
Dear Andrew Jones MP,
Following PMQs earlier today, where Prime Minister Boris Johnson gave an empty and evasive apology for hostng a party at the height of lockdown, I am now urging
you to join in the calls on the Prime Minister to resign.
There have been many recent allegations made about Government representatives and officials breaking the rules during the pandemic, but none so clear-cut as the occasion on 20th May 2020.
We have seen the invite to a hundred people, at a meeting we were told we could only meet one person outside. We know it happened on the Prime Minister’s premises, that his own private secretary organised it, and that he had attended it.
We do not need an independent investigation to tell us if the Prime Minister knew it was a party.
At this moment in the pandemic, the nation remained frightened of the virus.
The death toll was climbing. Pubs and many shops were closed. The rule of six wasn’t even introduced for another month. But it gets worse than that.
Local residents were deprived of precious final moments with family and loved ones and were forced to attend funerals via Zoom.
How, especially at this moment in the pandemic, the Prime Minister thought it appropriate for a bring your own booze bash in his back garden is totally beyond every reasonable person I know.
The fact he went on to deceive the public and Parliament about it, only makes it worse.
If this was a one-off mistake, perhaps there would be more public sympathy.
But I’m afraid this is only the latest incident in a long line of evidence that this Prime
Minister and his Government believes that there are rules for them and rules for us – and he will lie, obfuscate and gaslight the nation if anyone accuses him of doing wrong.
I recognise that you will owe some loyalty to the Prime Minister. You were elected in 2019 with him as your leader, and you have voted in line with his orders on almost every occasion. I also note with interest that your social media presence almost entirely ignores major national debates.
However, as Harrogate and Knaresborough’s representative in Westminster, it is incumbent on you to take a stand on what is morally right.
It is quite clearly time for Prime Minister Boris Johnson to resign.
I urge you to demonstrate that you will stand up for the people you represent, who have sacrificed so much during this pandemic, and join me in this resignation call.
Yours sincerely,
Matt Walker, Vice Chair Harrogate and Knaresborough Liberal Democrats
