Opinion | ‘Partygate’ fines won’t spark a challenge on Boris Johnson’s UK leadership – yet

While the Ukraine crisis has temporarily pushed the scandal out of the limelight, the fines slapped on Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak for breaking their own Covid-19 rules further eroded public support for the government

They are unlikely to be enough to spark a revolt among the ruling Conservatives, but that may change if the party does badly in next month’s local elections

Reading Time:3 minutes

A protester in London holds a placard with an image of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on December 8 last year. Johnson has been fined for violating coronavirus lockdown rules in 2020 by attending a number of gatherings, including his own birthday party. Photo: AP

Published: 3:30am, 14 Apr 2022Updated: 4:16am, 14 Apr 2022

Former Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson, in 1964, famously coined the phrase, “a week is a long time in politics”. Almost six decades later, the relevance of Wilson’s remark has been shown as the UK government faces a series of unsettling revelations concerning Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak, the UK’s two top ministers.

They have culminated with the disclosure on Tuesday that both have now paid fixed penalty notices issued by the police for violating coronavirus lockdown laws. The payment of the fines is an admission that they broke the laws they themselves made in office, and there are growing calls for them both to resign.

Tuesday’s bombshell caps off a woeful week for the government which has featured a continuous drip of tax-related revelations about Sunak’s family finances. Sunak, who had been seen as the favourite to become prime minister after Johnson steps down, is badly on the political back-foot.

Not only was his wife, Indian billionaire heiress Akshata Murty, pressured last week to start paying UK tax on her overseas earnings after it was revealed that she holds non-domiciled status, but Sunak referred himself to the Downing Street ethics adviser over claims he has not been transparent about his tax arrangements.

While some have already declared Sunak’s chances of becoming prime minister to be over, it is not yet clear what the longer-term implications of the revelations will be. However, in the shorter term, there is little question that the episode is bad news for the government.

It took Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to stabilise Johnson’s position after weeks of negative speculation over his future. The “partygate” scandal in Downing Street developed into a frenzy at the start of the year. So far, police have issued at least 50 fines for breaches of lockdown regulations at gatherings in Whitehall and Downing Street, including to Johnson and Sunak.

British Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak speaks at the House of Commons in London on March 23. Sunak, who had been seen as the favourite to become prime minister after Johnson steps down, is embroiled in a growing scandal over his family’s finances. Photo: Handout via Reuters