It has been two years since Boris Johnson shattered Labour’s “red wall” of northern seats to secure the Conservative party’s biggest majority since Margaret Thatcher’s 1987 victory. But while the prime minister was lauded by the Tory faithful in the months after that result, and was helped by a successful vaccine programme to weather questions about the government’s handling of the Covid pandemic, a succession of sometimes self-inflicted reversals has put his position in peril.
Chesham and Amersham byelection (17 June) Alarm was triggered at Conservative HQ after the Liberal Democrats pulled off an extraordinary byelection victory in what had been considered the ultra-safe Tory seat of Chesham and Amersham, in Buckinghamshire. Johnson was immediately under pressure to rethink planning changes in Tory heartlands, which were partly blamed for the shock defeat. Owen Paterson and sleaze (4 November) Johnson performed a screeching U-turn after MPs were initially instructed to vote to block the suspension of the then Tory MP Owen Paterson. A report that found a Conservative former cabinet minister broke lobbying rules was later approved, but the affair provoked fury among Tory backbenchers and put a spotlight on the wider question of sleaze, which continues to shine brightly. Jennifer Arcuri (20 November) A fresh inquiry has opened into Johnson’s relationship with the tech entrepreneur Jennifer Arcuri, after she agreed to help officials, paving the way for the prime minister to face a possible criminal investigation. Arcuri formally offered to allow the Greater London Authority (GLA) ethics watchdog to inspect extracts of her diary entries chronicling her affair with Johnson, and agreed to be questioned for the first time by investigators about the relationship. Peppa Piggate (22 November) Johnson was criticised by senior business leaders and Conservative MPs, and ridiculed by the opposition and the public, for a “rambling” speech to top industry figures in which he extensively praised Peppa Pig World, compared himself to Moses and imitated the noise of an accelerating car. The prime minister’s sprawling address to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) was accused of lacking seriousness and professionalism. He lost his place during the speech and spent 20 seconds repeating “forgive me” as he shuffled pages. Christmas partygate (7 December) Johnson was facing accusations of lying after senior No 10 officials were filmed joking about a lockdown Christmas party that Downing Street says did not take place. It came after reports emerged of a party on 18 December 2020, at a time when Britain was subject to strict Covid measures, and Johnson told the House of Commons that “all guidance was followed completely in No 10”. His former press secretary Allegra Stratton resigned after she was shown in the footage laughing and joking with colleagues about a non-socially distanced wine and cheese party. Police inquiries are under way into a number of parties. The reignition of flatgate (9 December) After accusations earlier in the year of planning for donors to “secretly pay” for work on the No 11 Downing Street flat where Johnson lives with his family, the Electoral Commission ruled the Tory party broke electoral laws over the controversial funding. Johnson could face sanctions involving suspension from the House of Commons, as MPs piled pressure on the standards commissioner to investigate spending on his flat after a serious censure by the Electoral Commission. Johnson’s ethics adviser, Christopher Geidt, has demanded an explanation after the prime minister was accused of misleading him over the flat scandal, with sources suggesting Lord Geidt could resign if the answer does not satisfy him. Tory backbench Covid rebellion (14 December) Johnson was humiliated after 99 Conservative MPs voted against plans for vaccine certificates, despite surging infections and personal lobbying by the prime minister. Rightwing, libertarian MPs who have long been agitating, and who are unhappy with the ideological basis for Covid restrictions, were at the forefront of the rebellion, joined by others who were closer to the centre of the party. The prime minister had pleaded with the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers before what was by far the biggest rebellion of his premiership. North Shropshire byelection (16 December) Johnson is facing his most seriously backlash from Tory MPs after the Liberal Democrats clinched an extraordinary victory in the North Shropshire byelection with a 34% swing. The result, which was worse for the government than even pessimists at Conservative campaign headquarters had feared, led one senior backbencher, Roger Gale, to warn that Johnson must take personal blame for the result.