I have received an unprecedented volume of correspondence from constituents regarding the Prime Minister, "partygate", and the resulting investigations, including Sue Gray’s report.
Whilst I will be replying to each person that has contacted me, I wanted to put my view, as your Member of Parliament, out there for all to see.
Frankly, I am very disappointed. Like many people in Clacton and up and down the country, I did not see my family during lockdowns, including my dying sister.
From what I can glean, and I am no more privileged than the media, we are looking at Fixed Penalty Notice transgressions. However, as I have repeatedly said, those that make the rules should never break them – especially when people’s health is potentially put at risk.
It should be remembered that, apart from the Prime Minister, there is no suggestion that there were any other Members of Parliament present. These events would appear to have been organised for and by the support staff, and the PM was asked to drop in to say thank you to them. He has admitted that he made an error of judgement and is prepared to face the consequences.
In my view, there is not much more that can be usefully said until the full report is in and the police have concluded their enquiries. In the meantime, the PM has announced a clamp down on standards and a specific role for a leader in No10 to enforce this. This is quite right.
I am not minded to send in a letter to the 1922 Committee to prompt a leadership election. I have a very clear reason for this; we would have then had four Prime Ministers since 2016! We face a world today on the edge of war, thanks to Russia, there are many people in Clacton who are struggling with their energy bills, and we are engaged in one of the greatest challenges this nation has faced in generations – the rebuilding of our economy after Covid and Brexit. We need the Government to focus totally on these important issues.
Whilst I appreciate many people will not be happy at my position, I simply do not see how a leadership crisis helps the nation at this time. I felt the same way when Mrs May was forced to leave, when Mrs Thatcher was forced to leave, and so on. Perhaps, if we did not have the Russian threat and the energy crisis, my view would be different. However, here and now, we need stability.
This will be my final comment until we see the full report from Sue Gray and the outcome of the Metropolitan Police’s investigations.
Yours,
Giles