If a week is a long time in politics this week has seemed it in particular. We all waited in huge anticipation for PMQs on Wednesday and to discover whether the PM did attend the 20th May event in Downing Street. So I was pleased he admitted the truth, that he was there, but rather than trying to describe it as a work gathering, and saying he wished things had been done differently, I wanted him to acknowledge he should have done things differently. If we wanted to see leadership during the pandemic we needed to look at Her Majesty the Queen, who mourned her husband, alone in the pew of the Chapel at Windsor Castle. Other grieving widows did likewise.
It is why I said in my email to constituents, helpfully forwarded to Alastair Campbell, that I recognise the efforts Romsey and Southampton North residents have made to do the right thing, abide by the various rules and play their part in helping to stop the spread of the virus. I am very conscious of the family events missed, the baptisms, the weddings postponed or cancelled altogether. I know graduation ceremonies have happened on line or not at all. Christmas celebrations, in successive years, have been small and subdued events. People have not visited their loved ones in care homes and hospital, and have been unable to spend those precious final hours with the terminally ill.
So I feel as let down and as angry as my constituents, the hundreds of them who have emailed this last week. It may not make me popular with Boris Johnson loyalists, but I acknowledge the behaviour in Downing Street has fallen far short of what the rest of us have managed. Of course I know people will now be trawling to find when I have broken lock down, but they can be assured I was not at the Downing Street party that day. I travelled to and from Westminster to Chair my select committee on the 20th May 2020, I attended a number of meetings on MS Teams, and yes that night, I did go to a party, on zoom. I caught up with friends after work in the comfort of my own home, via my own laptop, drinking my own wine and eating my own crisps. It was not particularly healthy, it was not that much fun, but it was legal.
