Rishi Sunak not wearing a seatbelt.

Says a lot about his judgement. If he thought the nation seeing him minus his seat belt was ok, or more to the point - probably didn’t even give it any thought, what other important issues is he giving little thought to or making poor judgements on?

Although he certainly did the action, are you sure he thought, “It’s OK for me to break the law,” when he took the belt off?
Now if you’re talking about having parties during Covid . . .

Mollygo

^Optics matter when you're a leader and he shouldn't be seen as behaving in a way he doesn't expect of everybody else in the country.^
That’s why he was fined.

Good! I agree it's not a major crime. What matters is that he seems to think laws don't apply to him. It's part of a bigger picture.

Callistemon21

Yammy

One swallow never made a flock, all these sanctimonious comments people need to think hard about the times they have either inadvertently or on purpose broken the law . Had a parking ticket passed to them instead of buying a new ticket? Kept the pound in the trolley when someone left it?I could go on. Yes, it was dangerous for him and others and he has paid his fine.

Whenever has keeping a trolley pound endangered anyone?

I'd put it in the charity box but then I tend to be sanctimonious.

Had a parking ticket passed to them instead of buying a new ticket? You have to key in your car number which is printed on the ticket 🤔

I don't think I've ever been lucky enough to find a pound in a trolley. I use a metal disk I keep in my purse - and get my own disk back at the end.

DaisyAnne

Callistemon21

That reminded of the advert about the Mum who was driving, son in the back without a seatbelt on.
She has to brake suddenly, the result is shocking.

"Julie knew her killer"

www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKHY69AFstE

Perhaps it's time they started re-running these adverts.

I remember the shock the first time I saw it!

I remember being involved in a motorway accident before there were seatbelts in the backs of cars - luckily our DC fell into the well of the car and weren't injured. The little one was strapped into a car seat and slept through it all.

Yammy

One swallow never made a flock, all these sanctimonious comments people need to think hard about the times they have either inadvertently or on purpose broken the law . Had a parking ticket passed to them instead of buying a new ticket? Kept the pound in the trolley when someone left it?I could go on. Yes, it was dangerous for him and others and he has paid his fine.

What's sanctimonious about not wanting to be thrown through a windscreen if you have a crash?

Grantanow

A minor offence. Going down this rabbit hole takes the focus off 12 years of Tory misrule and underfunding of the NHS which they are now trying to charge patients for. Javid is flying the kite about GP and A&E charges to see if they can get away with it. What happened to the Brexit bus money?

I agree it's a distraction from much bigger issues, but for Sunak it's not a good look to appear to be above the law.

Yammy

One swallow never made a flock, all these sanctimonious comments people need to think hard about the times they have either inadvertently or on purpose broken the law . Had a parking ticket passed to them instead of buying a new ticket? Kept the pound in the trolley when someone left it?I could go on. Yes, it was dangerous for him and others and he has paid his fine.

Whenever has keeping a trolley pound endangered anyone?

I'd put it in the charity box but then I tend to be sanctimonious.

Had a parking ticket passed to them instead of buying a new ticket? You have to key in your car number which is printed on the ticket 🤔

Yammy

Ilovecheese

He has done a lot worse things than this.

Haven't we all done it at some time if we admit it? I once dropped an animal off at the vet to be Put down . When we got home neither my DD nor myself had put our seat belts on, we were too upset thinking of the animal. I have also been to funerals where people have got out of the back of cars when it was obvious they had not fastened their seat belts. Their mind wasn't on their own safety.
So he's made a mistake he'll pay the fine and make sure he hopefully doesn't do it again. Many of us know people have been fined for speeding paid to watch the film and gone on to do it again. Human is the word that comes to mind.
He just needs to learn a lesson.

No, I don't think I have.

I passed my driving test over 50 years ago and I wore a seatbelt from the beginning. I've always insisted front seat passengers wear one - and back seat ones too since it became the law.

Grantonow
So where is the line for a minor offence?
Btw I can think of the big stuff and the minor offences

Callistemon21

That reminded of the advert about the Mum who was driving, son in the back without a seatbelt on.
She has to brake suddenly, the result is shocking.

"Julie knew her killer"

www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKHY69AFstE

Perhaps it's time they started re-running these adverts.

Grantanow

A minor offence. Going down this rabbit hole takes the focus off 12 years of Tory misrule and underfunding of the NHS which they are now trying to charge patients for. Javid is flying the kite about GP and A&E charges to see if they can get away with it. What happened to the Brexit bus money?

It may be a rabbit hole, but it doesn't mean that many of us have lost sight of the enormities being imposed on us by Sunak's government. We're just multitasking

M0nica

Storm in a tea cup.

Most people have on occasion for some reason undone their seat belt for a (very) brief period - and immediately done it up again, almost always in circumstances when the chance of a full nose to nose head on smash at extreme speed on the motorway is virtually totally unknown

Let who ever is without sin throw the first stone.

Really M0nica? So it's okay to break the law to make a Party Political Broadcast? That comes high on "most" people's list, does it? It's okay to break the law when the majority wouldn't? You obviously think you, too, are above the law and do this "on occasion". I don't, so please don't suggest that "most" people do.

You and Sunak think you are above the law. I expect, in many ways, you will manage to be if that is your attitude. Sunak hasn't any idea how "most" people live. It seems those who support him don't have any idea, either.

Mollygo

^Optics matter when you're a leader and he shouldn't be seen as behaving in a way he doesn't expect of everybody else in the country.^
That’s why he was fined.

I hope not. He broke the law and was caught. That was why he was fined.

Optics matter when you're a leader and he shouldn't be seen as behaving in a way he doesn't expect of everybody else in the country.
That’s why he was fined.

One swallow never made a flock, all these sanctimonious comments people need to think hard about the times they have either inadvertently or on purpose broken the law . Had a parking ticket passed to them instead of buying a new ticket? Kept the pound in the trolley when someone left it?I could go on. Yes, it was dangerous for him and others and he has paid his fine.

Acknowledging the in no way takes the focus of 12 years of Tory misrule. It’s another example of tories in government not giving a fig about their responsibilities.

A minor offence. Going down this rabbit hole takes the focus off 12 years of Tory misrule and underfunding of the NHS which they are now trying to charge patients for. Javid is flying the kite about GP and A&E charges to see if they can get away with it. What happened to the Brexit bus money?

Ilovecheese

He has done a lot worse things than this.

Haven't we all done it at some time if we admit it? I once dropped an animal off at the vet to be Put down . When we got home neither my DD nor myself had put our seat belts on, we were too upset thinking of the animal. I have also been to funerals where people have got out of the back of cars when it was obvious they had not fastened their seat belts. Their mind wasn't on their own safety.
So he's made a mistake he'll pay the fine and make sure he hopefully doesn't do it again. Many of us know people have been fined for speeding paid to watch the film and gone on to do it again. Human is the word that comes to mind.
He just needs to learn a lesson.

Optics matter when you're a leader and he shouldn't be seen as behaving in a way he doesn't expect of everybody else in the country
This 👍

That reminded of the advert about the Mum who was driving, son in the back without a seatbelt on.
She has to brake suddenly, the result is shocking.

"Julie knew her killer"

www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKHY69AFstE

I put my seatbelt on - front and back seat. It's automatic.

My mother used to hate wearing one and would sometimes get in my car and not put it on. I'd refuse to turn the ignition until she did and she used to get very cross with me.

What Sunak did wasn't a major crime, but the fact is that he broke the law. He's the PM and IMO has a responsibility to uphold every single law - he's the PM after all and has the privilege of being able to change laws if he doesn't like them.

Optics matter when you're a leader and he shouldn't be seen as behaving in a way he doesn't expect of everybody else in the country.

I couldn’t agree more rafichagran. Anyone would think he’d been caught snorting coke.

I cant get worked up about this, he did it, he has been fined, let's move on. Far more things to worry about.

It may be a small matter to some of you, but in the case of the man in charge of the government, I think it's a bit more serious to find that he can break the law so easily. It is the law!

I can't get into a car, front or back, or even a bus, where they are provided, without putting my seat belt on. I worked in what was then called Casualty before compulsory seatbelts and have seen what sort of injuries they can prevent.