Two-thirds of Britons think Boris Johnson should quit if he broke lockdown laws

 

Two-thirds of Britons think Boris Johnson should quit if he broke lockdown laws

 

Polling reveals extent of anger over Partygate scandal.

The majority of British people want Johnson to go if found guilty of breaching COVID rules |

 

BY ESTHER WEBBER

February 4, 2022 4:43 am

https://www.politico.eu/article/two-thirds-britons-think-boris-johnson-should-quit-broke-lockdown-laws/

 

LONDON — Sixty-five percent of Britons believe Boris Johnson should resign if the police fine him for breaching COVID restrictions, according to a new poll, as the U.K. prime minister tries to turn the page on the Partygate scandal.

 

Parties held during lockdown in Downing Street and Whitehall represented “serious failures of leadership,” a report by senior civil servant Sue Gray concluded earlier this week.

 

Gray was only able to issue a partial update while the Metropolitan Police investigates 12 instances of social gatherings that may have broken laws against indoor mixing that were in place at the time.

 

Johnson insisted as he was questioned by MPs Wednesday that he was focused on getting “on with the job.”

 

He refused to say if he would step aside should the police decide to issue a fixed-penalty notice for breaking the rules, saying only that he would “comply with the law.”

 

However, almost two-thirds of the public think he ought to step aside if there’s a fine, according to polling carried out by Redfield and Wilton, shared exclusively with POLITICO, while 58 percent thought he should quit if his staff are found to have broken the law.

 

Less than half — 44 percent — of Conservative voters polled said Johnson ought to resign if fined, which may further strengthen his resolve to ride out the scandal.

 

It backs up suggestions from Conservative MPs that the PM still enjoys a high degree of support among grassroots party activists.

 

Seventy-five percent of those polled were in favor of banning alcohol at Downing Street, after Gray criticized a drinking culture in parts of Whitehall.

 

The survey also indicated the reach of the scandal, with 89 percent saying they had heard or read about parties at Downing Street and only 3 percent saying they had heard nothing about it.

 

The prime minister rejected calls to resign in a recent interview with The Sun and pledged to seek re-election in 2024, adding: “I’ve got a lot more to do.”