I AM overwhelmed by the number of pertinent issues I could be writing about, and we’re not even finished January. However, all these issues can be summarised as the ever-expanding tale of lies and corruption that is happening in Westminster.

We have a cost-of-living crisis, a climate crisis, and just this week the Tories passed the Elections Bill designed to suppress voters.

There are countless other gory examples of how heartless the Tories are, from the rape clause to immigration, and yet the straw that has at least made the camel stumble is parties at Downing Street.

I asked my 16-year-old cousin if they were still going to a party they had mentioned at the weekend, and without skipping a beat they replied, “…it’s a work event”.

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Where there are innumerable examples of corruption already, such as the Covid contracts and blatant cronyism, the reason this scandal cuts through is because it is an example showing all the worst qualities of the Conservatives at the same time. Elitism, selfishness, and arrogance.

Remember that we were never supposed to find out about these seemingly frequent parties in Downing Street. The little people don’t need to know about what they do in their personal time, as long as everyone is happy clanging their pots once a week. At that time the entire world was covered in fear, mourning and despair. The fact that nobody in authority at those parties sought to reflect on the nature of their celebrations shows just how staggering the elitism is.

Once the cat was out the bag and the video of Allegra Stratton laughing at how ridiculous it was to try and pass these gatherings off as complying with government restrictions was released, she was thrown to the wolves. Looking back, knowing now just how much deeper the scandal would go, the Prime Minister has shown nothing but staggering selfishness. Not only by quickly tossing her out, but by presuming that would be the end of it, for him anyway.

Once further evidence came out, such as a picture of the PM sitting with a glass of wine, he again immediately distanced himself by using lawyers language: “I have been assured”, “I have seen no evidence of” etc. Be of no doubt, the Prime Minister should never have been allowed within a hundred miles of political office. His own former colleague, Rory Stewart, eloquently summarised his long history of deceit, disloyalty, and incompetence. He broke the rules when he was spending hundreds of thousands of party donors’ pounds to do up his flat in Downing Street, then he and his staff were converting the 10 Downing Street garden into a brewery, while the rest of the country was locked down. To have the arrogance to think he can put on his puppy dog eyes and say “sorry” after telling barefaced lies with a smirk on his face is disturbing.

DESPITE the ample evidence that he likely misled parliament, he is still in office. Which brings us to the more insidious events unfolding. The blanket refusal from the Metropolitan Police to investigate this shows the most blatant corruption. The relationships between those complicit and those in the media should send alarm bells ringing in any democracy. The public are being expected to believe that Sue Gray can clear all this up. Sue Gray, whose boss is the PM.

The PM is unfit for office and his own MPs know it, but it is now a matter of when is the most convenient time to get rid of him. That’s how Westminster works. They see it as a game. Labour are happy welcoming Tory MPs into their ranks and the Tories are happy waiting for dust to settle. Meanwhile the public, and our lives, are left in the hands of an absolute danger.

Some folk reading may have seen the show Years and Years – if you haven’t, you might want to skip a couple paragraphs because I’m going to talk about how it ends …

In Years and Years a right-wing authoritarian gains control of parliament and government and runs wild with power. She clearly thinks she’s untouchable. She attacks people’s freedoms and treats migrants horrifically. Does this sound familiar? Well, good news! She loses! Her actions are exposed and the police, being independent of government, step in and arrest her. While what Boris Johnson has been up to is not to the same level, it is very uncomfortable that the police seem to think he is above the law. I daresay, if this was happening on another continent, we’d be calling it a banana republic.

And beyond the parties, the shady donors, lying to the Queen about proroguing parliament, this week there have been accusations of blackmail being used against Tory MPs who are thinking about doing the right thing and pushing for the Prime Minister to resign. The MP who switched to Labour revealed he was told a school his constituency needs might not be built if he doesn’t support the PM.

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William Wragg – another Tory MP – gave a statement to the Public Affairs Committee (which he is the chair of), saying he has heard from various MPs making similar claims. He encouraged those MPs to go to the police, but you’d understand if they don’t have any confidence in the Metropolitan police at the moment.

I think upon hearing about that Keir Starmer said the Prime Minister should go to his room and have a long thing about what he’s done or something.

We are at risk of making corruption normal. Maybe we already have. But it is scary. None of what is happening is normal.

Government should not function like this. The Prime Minister and his entire team in Number 10 should have been shown the door weeks ago. But it suits the Tories to wait and see how the dust settles before making a move, and it suits Labour to soak up MPs who’ve had enough. It’s corruption from top to bottom. Everyone’s at it.