Boris Johnson

MaizieD
I think you were the poster not really believing reports of big wedding parties.
You also seem to be a demanding poster.
What percentage ? What am I, an investigative journalist?
The true figure will never be known of those who broke lockdown rules as most went unreported.
And yeah, it is irrelevant to the Johnson case, but as quite a few posters on here seem to think there were few who broke the rules it was worth pointing out that plenty did.
End of discussion as far as I’m concerned.😄

I don't know anyone who broke the rules. Everyone I know was very careful to self isolate and only go out to shop or visit doctors and pharmacists. None of us wanted to catch covid.

I remember posting in the the first few months of the pandemic (March or April) about long covid. I'd read an article in the Guardian about young people suffering from it. The examples given had previously been very healthy, exercised regularly and so on. One was a young doctor who could not walk up the stairs in his home without great difficulty. This was in the early days. So, thinking that people might not read the Guardian I suggested that GNers might like to warn their children or grandchildren about long covid and the response I got was quite negative.

We now know better.

Oreo I'm with Maizie on this. Your opinion is that many or very many people disobeyed the rules. It is just your opinion - you may not be an investigative journalist but it shouldn't take you very long to find some facts and figures.

If you're not prepared to back up your assertions with some attempt at quantifying how many people 'broke the rules', that's fine by me,*Oreo*. It just doesn't really help to validate what you are claiming.

Surely it's irrelevant how many 'ordinary' people broke lockdown rules. If we continue to refer to this we are in fact
excusing Boris Johnson & Co.

You’re right, that’s the point Greta. Whataboutery detracts from lies, minimisation, deflection and bad behaviour by the PM. He seems to have led a heavy drinking culture. No surprise there

MaizieD

If you're not prepared to back up your assertions with some attempt at quantifying how many people 'broke the rules', that's fine by me,*Oreo*. It just doesn't really help to validate what you are claiming.

Rubbish.
There’s no way of checking.You think people volunteered to out themselves?
Am guessing that most older people were better at obeying rules as they also didn’t want to catch it.
A lot of posters on this site are around my Mum’s age.
I can tell you that younger people were nowhere near as careful.
It should be possible to say this and condemn Boris and others for what they did, and glad to see him investigated over it.
It’s not hard to hold these two thoughts in the mind.

Oreo

HousePlantQueen

Johnson's behaviour was unacceptable.
Johnson lied to the HoC
Johnson has been tried by parliamentary procedure.
Nobody, but nobody is above the rule of law.even if a few deluded individuals think that getting Brexit done gives you carte blanche to break the law, even after you set it.
The members of the committee were doing their job.
You paid for Johnson's defence, so did I, but unwillingly.
I did not break lockdown rules.
Stop judging the rest of us based on what you find acceptable, most intelligent people know a liar when we see one and care a great deal about democracy.

Who are you talking to?
If it’s me, use the quote facility.
I’ve been clear all along, Boris Johnson and all in number ten who had parties or get togethers were wrong just as all those who partied and got together in the country were wrong.
Being the government who set the rules made Boris and pals even more wrong tbh.
Many people stayed within lockdown rules but OMG very many sure didn’t.

No, I wasn't addressing you directly, Oreo, if I had been I would have said so. I am also perfectly aware of how quotations, italics, etc work. Thank you.

Greta

Surely it's irrelevant how many 'ordinary' people broke lockdown rules. If we continue to refer to this we are in fact
excusing Boris Johnson & Co.

It is indeed irrelevant, as I said in my post.

But this 'many people broke the rules' thing, based on hearsay and news items, is annoying. It implies a widespread phenomenon but has no real evidence base.And despite Oreo's protestations it sounds like a justification for Johnson.

OTOH I'm sure that 'some' people broke the rules. One never expects 100% compliance.

Oreo, whether or not your neighbour had a party in their garden, or a wedding was busted (I remember a discussion on here about one in particular), this isn't the basis of Johnson's hearing. Despite what his dwindling band of supporters will try to imply, this is to do with Parliament, procedure, truth and democracy, not whether Johnson had a glass of wine.

What we all did, or didn't do during lockdown is over, some survived it, some did not, and many still suffer from poor mental health as a result of it, many will never forgive the government for partying while their relatives died alone. These are facts which most of us, hopefully, can agree on.

Wednesday was about whether the head of an elected government misled the HoC, whether he misled your MP, and mine, which we elected to represent our interests, this is an essential element of Parliamentary democracy.

A point of interest; my constituency MP is Sir Bernard Jenkins, not a particularily good constituency MP, an ERG member to boot, but I was very pleased with the professional, courteous way he questioned Johnson on Wednesday. He did not allow his mutual Brexit support, his ERG membership to distract him from the point of the committee hearing.

It will only sound like a justification for Johnson for the hard of thinking MaizieD or those who can’t actually read.
Am guessing you fit into the older age bracket like Mum, who never saw any rule breaking around her.

And they say I'm rude.... 🤪

volver3

And they say I'm rude.... 🤪

Some people get special attention, volver 😂

HousePlantQueen

*Oreo*, whether or not your neighbour had a party in their garden, or a wedding was busted (I remember a discussion on here about one in particular), this isn't the basis of Johnson's hearing. Despite what his dwindling band of supporters will try to imply, this is to do with Parliament, procedure, truth and democracy, not whether Johnson had a glass of wine.

What we all did, or didn't do during lockdown is over, some survived it, some did not, and many still suffer from poor mental health as a result of it, many will never forgive the government for partying while their relatives died alone. These are facts which most of us, hopefully, can agree on.

Wednesday was about whether the head of an elected government misled the HoC, whether he misled your MP, and mine, which we elected to represent our interests, this is an essential element of Parliamentary democracy.

A point of interest; my constituency MP is Sir Bernard Jenkins, not a particularily good constituency MP, an ERG member to boot, but I was very pleased with the professional, courteous way he questioned Johnson on Wednesday. He did not allow his mutual Brexit support, his ERG membership to distract him from the point of the committee hearing.

Since I agree with you and have said as much in loads of my posts on here am starting to think posters don’t actually read much, just one post then rush in with a wrong judgement.
In fact, that’s social media in a nutshell come to think of it.😂
I mention the rule breaking as several posters way upthread didn’t seem to think anything much went on. It did.
Does that detract from Boris Johnson and investigation? No.

Am guessing you fit into the older age bracket like Mum, who never saw any rule breaking around her.

You do make me feel old, Oreo. How old is your mum?

I live in a pretty ordinary mixed neighbourhood, old people and young. Nothing rule breaking happened here.

Late seventies.

I live in a pretty ordinary mixed neighbourhood too.
Plenty of rule breaking here.

One lot of rule breaking occurred in our local community - someone called the police and the party was stopped - someone had had the bright idea of holding it in the road - there is a chap who runs a mobile disco, so I’m guessing it was him. It was all going splendidly with lots of youngsters breaking the rules, but socially distanced - off they went with a flea in their ear- not sure if the disco man was fined etc.
The police were following Johnson’s guidelines, and the person who reported it also knew what the guidelines were - and I’m 100% sure so did disco man and fellow party enthusiasts, they took the telling off with good grace (I knew this because all the neighbours were watching out of their windows - having not a lot else to do during lockdown😄)

Just like Johnson knew but denied - if it looks like a party and sounds like a party.

IT IS A PARTY.

maizie late 70s 😄😄😄😄

Oreo

It will only sound like a justification for Johnson for the hard of thinking MaizieD or those who can’t actually read.
Am guessing you fit into the older age bracket like Mum, who never saw any rule breaking around her.

Oof! Bit rude there....

Oreo 'Does that detract from Boris Johnson and investigation? No.'

so what is the point of mentionning it then? And be so rude about age.

You say it went unreported, and a bit before that would would not have reported neighbours as we are not in 1984!

Life and death of so many were put at risk by those t***s- and I can tell you, if after driving a whole day to be with family at Christmas and spending hundreds of pounds for testing and more testing- to then not be able to be with both DDs, GCs and their partners- on Christmas day, I would have had NO hesitation whatsoever in reporting them if next door was having a party. NONE. Because we were in 2021, and the middle of a deadly pandemic.

I dont think it has any relevance to Johnsons behaviour but I was working in all but the first lockdown, and was aware of quite a lot of rule breaking. I am not going to pretend things didnt happen that did. But if those people had been 'caught' they would have faced consequences, and Johnson is facing his consequences now.

I can tell you that younger people were nowhere near as careful

I can only tell you about those young people whom I know and the ones I know did not break the rules.

Greta

Surely it's irrelevant how many 'ordinary' people broke lockdown rules. If we continue to refer to this we are in fact
excusing Boris Johnson & Co.

I agree, it is irrelevant.

What is relevant is that those who made the rules for the public to follow were the ones who flwuned them

The old adage "Do as I say, not as I do" is what happened.

I remember that it was a matter of great amusement to Government press secretaries and aides that they broke the rules on parties and gatherings.

As far as Johnson and his crew were concerned, the rules were only for the little people. Oh - and for the Head of State.

flwuned

Well, I don't know where that came from, even autocorrect didn't notice.

Flaunted

A lot of posters on this site are around my Mum’s age.

Another unverifiable assertion.