On the streets of Uxbridge and South Ruislip, where Boris Johnson has been MP since 2015, people expressed “disappointment” and called for the prime minister to face a police investigation and penalties for breaking lockdown rules. But should he quit? Not a chance.
While most voters who spoke to the Guardian in the west London constituency expressed frustration and anger with actions they perceived as unfair, some regular Conservative voters said they would remain loyal to the prime minister, and others were sceptical about the alternatives.
Stuart Horace, a 57-year-old IT professional, was dissatisfied with Johnson’s apology for attending a No 10 garden party on 20 May 2020 and thought he should pay the same fine as a member of the public caught breaching Covid rules, as should his principal private secretary, Martin Reynolds, whom he felt was most to blame given that he sent the invitation to about 100 staff.
However, he did not consider the issue a deal-breaker for Johnson’s premiership, and said that he would vote for him again, since “many people” held illegal drinks parties during lockdown.
He said: “Tony Blair sent the country to an illegal war for which we’re still picking up the bill, while Boris Johnson went to an illegal gathering with booze. Did Tony Blair resign?”
Hayley Babb, a 36-year-old photography student, said she thought the apology was “another Boris cop-out” and that he would use the pandemic to deflect attention away from the possible breach of rules. “It’s do as I say, not as I do,” she said.
She wanted to see him face a police investigation but thought this was unlikely to result in his resignation because he has “brass balls” and escaped earlier scandals unscathed. There was nobody she would especially want to take over, she added, since they are “all corrupt” and tend to come from wealthy backgrounds with a limited understanding of working-class people.
Kevin Gibson, a 62-year-old project manager, said he was especially galled by the fact the party took place at the same time he had been unable to see his son, who was living in supported accommodation. “It’s not about Boris Johnson or left wing versus right wing. It’s about deceit,” he said.
He voted for Johnson in the last election because of his stance on Brexit, and generally voted Conservative, but said he wouldn’t again. He viewed Labour and the Tories as “two sides of the same coin” and would opt for whichever party represented a protest vote instead.
Shirley Clark, a retired administrator, had been suspicious of Johnson before the revelations and didn’t vote for him in the last election. “If the man can’t comb his hair, he can’t unscramble his brains.” But, she queried: “Who have we got who could take over?”
Egle Sumskai, who is unemployed and aged 26, said the Downing Street party had changed her opinion of Johnson and she wouldn’t vote to return him as the constituency’s MP. “It’s not fair on all of us. I’m 100% sure he’s not the right person to lead the country.”
Ali Taher, a 32-year-old retail worker, shared Sumskai’s sense of betrayal, and said he was “disappointed”. “Their real face is exposed. They are losing credibility,” he said.
Taher was unable to vote during the last election and he said he was uncertain who he would vote for in future. “I like Boris Johnson’s character but not his policies. I feel that he divides rather than unites the nation. When it comes to real responsibilities and being prime minister, he doesn’t seem to take things seriously, especially in the last few years.”
He is more interested in voting for a leftwing party, he said, but added that Keir Starmer “feels like a Tory in the closet”.
However, several Conservative voters were grateful to Johnson for his work as a local MP. One man, who asked not to be named, gestured at the prosperous-looking high street. “Look how clean it is,” he said.
His views were echoed by a property consultant who asked not to be named. He felt the Conservatives had helped him build a good life and enabled him to buy a house, and that journalists were “exaggerating” the parties. “They’re just sitting in the garden,” the 43-year-old said.
He said he would vote Conservative again, and would like Rishi Sunak to be the next prime minister since the chancellor has performed well during the pandemic.
Debbie Cusmans, a 57-year-old carer, said she had asked Johnson to help her fight an eviction notice, and he had done so. She voted for him last time, and would again.
She brandished a copy of a newspaper with a picture of Johnson seated at a No 10 gathering with his wife, Carrie, and several colleagues. “You can’t call that a party,” she said, adding: “It’s a very difficult time to be prime minister.”
• Join our journalists for a Guardian Live online event on the No 10 lockdown party and Boris Johnson’s future on Wednesday 19 January. Book here
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