Boris Johnson’s contempt for the British public is palpable – he has to go

The prime minister has received a police fine for a criminal offence. Forget “all guidance was followed completely”, forget “Covid rules have been followed at all times”, forget “I repeat that I have been repeatedly assured since these allegations emerged that there was no party and that no Covid rules were broken”.

It was all hot air, fabrication, dishonesty – lies, to put it bluntly.

The Metropolitan Police are satisfied that Boris Johnson broke the laws he made – and in the case of the “ambushed with cake” birthday party, in the place he made them – while the rest of us were expected to sacrifice and obey. The chancellor, Rishi Sunak, has also been slapped with a fixed penalty notice, reportedly for the same gathering.

Both Johnson and Sunak have clearly stated that they will not resign, and by doing so have demonstrated their callous and nauseating contempt for the British public.

I feel the need to spell this out, amid the noise of obfuscation, of downplaying and minimising and trivialising and whataboutery. The facts stand.

Nadine Dorries and Michael Fabricant were right out of the gate defending the prime minister, which says it all really. Fabricant even managed to insult every single nurse and teacher in Britain, by saying that Johnson was only doing what they did after shifts: “go back to the staff room and have a quiet drink”. I’m not sure where Michael got this information from, but the general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing isn’t convinced.

Dorries did the only thing Dorries can do, which is to debase herself in service of Johnson, tweeting about a “brief gathering” that was “less than 10 minutes during a busy working day”, as if that’s any kind of excuse. If the people tripping over themselves to back you include this pair, it’s probably time to throw in the towel.

Anyone with a shred of decency, integrity, compassion or honour would’ve hung their head and packed their bags. But let’s face it, anyone fit to serve in public life would’ve done things very differently up to this point, and we wouldn’t be where we so clearly are now.

The kind of country we live in is being shaped by the behaviour of the man who holds its highest political office. He has misled, he has lied, he has broken his own laws and he still refuses to do the decent thing. The excuses about there being a war in Ukraine and “focussing on the job in hand” are nothing more than brazen attempts to cling on to power.

Thank goodness Boris and Rishi are staying! They can continue to not deal with the cost-of-living crisis, to preside over the biggest fall in living standards since the 1950s, and to offer zero meaningful support to the poorest and most vulnerable people in Britain – £200 quid enforced loan anyone? It’s such a relief that the man who snatched £20 a week back from those on universal credit and has referred himself to the independent regulator over his own tax affairs is remaining in post.

There will be plenty more time for photo ops in Kyiv holding ceramic chickens and enjoying roast beef dinners, with Johnson clammily crossing his fingers that some of Volodymyr Zelensky’s star power rubs off.

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During lockdown, I watched my auntie’s funeral on Zoom. No one could see us, but my partner and I wore the clothes we would’ve chosen if we were actually allowed to be there. I remember how jarring it was to see the inside of the crematorium in my hometown, where I’d attended other funerals, on my laptop screen, while I perched on the edge of my sofa in London. There was no wake, no chat outside the crem, no hugging of family, no sharing of food or drink. It was lonely and empty and awful knowing that she’d passed away with only strangers around her. And many others have endured the same.

Whatever the Tories come out with over the next few days – words intended to gaslight, to reduce the whole sorry mess down to “fluff” and insignificance – remember that people died alone, they died without their loved ones by their sides, and the number of those who lost their lives is to the tune of over 150,000. All the while, Johnson and his merry band of boozehounds were laughing it up with wine and cheese and cake and suitcases of fizz. It was all jolly japes, and laws and fines and “protect the NHS” were for the little people.

This bumper batch of 50 fixed penalty notices is unlikely to be the last – and Johnson could very well be the recipient of more fines. His refusal to resign is proof (if you needed more) of the level of regard he holds for you, me and the office he holds.

We’re mugs, and he’s laughing.