The Tory byelection defeat had everything to do with Mr Johnson, says North Dorset Green Party’s Ken Huggins
Boris Johnson has just claimed that his government’s record is ‘exceptional’.
He has never spoken a truer word. He blames the crushing Tory defeats in the Wakefield and Tiverton/Honiton byelections on the media, for focussing more on his personal conduct than on his policies. That he considers his personal conduct to be of no consequence says it all.
There has been plenty of media focus on his policies, many of which do not stand up to close scrutiny. And whilst Government spokespeople take every opportunity to remind us of the speed of the vaccine rollout, they deliberately ignore the massive failings elsewhere in dealing with the covid pandemic. For example, the Government claim that a ‘protective ring’ had been thrown around care homes. Not true. My mother caught covid in Yeovil hospital, but was promptly discharged right back into her care home. Tens of thousands of vulnerable care home residents caught covid and died.
Then there was the debacle of PPE procurement, with eye watering profits, commissions being paid without proper scrutiny and billions spent on unusable items.
Wasted taxpayers’ money that could have been profitably used to increase supplies of renewable energy, and reduce energy consumption by insulating homes.
For us to have such a Prime Minister at this time is more than just an embarrassment, it’s a disaster. With the enormity and urgency of the environmental crisis ever more apparent, now more than ever we need strong, compassionate and caring leadership, with recognition that we are all in the same boat. Accepting that everyone has to be taken care of, regardless of which school they went to, or how wealthy they may be.
For any conservatives pondering their next steps, as an ex Conservative voter myself I can confirm the warm welcome that awaits in the Green Party.
