Over the weekend I’ve been trying to process my feelings about yet another partygate leak, but I’m yet to get beyond anger.
On Saturday The Mirror revealed the first lockdown party video, which showed Conservative Campaign Headquarters staff drunkenly taking the mick out of Covid restrictions.
The party happened on 14th December- the same day it was announced that the infection rate was so high in London (where the party was happening) that it would be moving into Tier 3 of lockdown restrictions. Five days later tier 4 would be announced, banning anyone in London from leaving, right before Christmas.
This was of course a horrible time for us all, but where I live, as was the case for much of the north, we’d been living in Tier 3 on and off since the summer.
This meant most of us hadn’t hugged our loved ones in months - I hadn't seen my grandparents in 6 months and then that was at their gate.
People with elderly and disabled loved ones in care were only able to see them through windows, despite the fact that many in care didn’t understand what was happening - the result was heartbreaking to watch on tv.
For those of us who’d devastatingly lost someone in that time, restrictions meant they were unable to say goodbye at their bedside and funerals were restricted to 30 people. Family members died and we couldn’t even comfort each other.
For the disabled community, it was truly horrific. Many of us had barely left our houses in 9 months. Left with no support whilst covid rules constantly changed to allow healthy people to go to the pub, whilst we feared for our lives, forgotten.
And they partied.
Whilst we begged our loved ones to not send us to hospital if we got too ill in case we had involuntary 'do not resuscitate' orders placed on us.
Whilst we watched the world ignore that 6 in 10 of all covid deaths in the UK were disabled people
Whilst they turned the public against those of us trying to protect ourselves by caring more about business than the cost of human lives.
They blew off steam, drank wine by the suitcase full, sang Happy Birthday, danced at Christmas parties, repeatedly broke their own guidance.
They laughed behind our backs. Well it’s not even behind our backs, it’s on camera.
The Covid inquiry is still ongoing but former Prime Minister Boris Johnson has already characteristically stumbled into a cushy columnist job for a tasty 6 figure salary. His new employer said he was “famed as one of the wittiest and most original writers in the business”. Funny I don’t remember “let the bodies pile high” being meant as a joke.
Two of the people from the Christmas party - Ben Mallet of the festive braces and Shaun Bailey, photographed smiling and drinking happily - are on Johnson’s resignation honours list.
Matt Hancock, the health minister at the time - who delayed safety measures and ensuring hospitals were prepared - came third in a reality TV show last winter.
Johnson’s former Chancellor Rishi Sunak (remember him?) is now PM and was mysteriously busy while the House voted on whether to punish his ex-boss this week.
People who were always against lockdown now have the ammo to brush it off as a waste of time (“Well they knew it wasn’t serious”) which delegitimises the fact that we’re still in a pandemic now - though you’d hardly know it.
They took us for fools and thought they were invincible.
So while Boris takes up column inches spreading information about a diabetes drug's “wonder” abilities to help him lose weight or whatever else he wants to spaff on about, we can’t forget.
I know that sounds trite when it’s best put as we won’t forget.
We won’t forget how terrified for our lives the ruling class made us feel and how they denied us the right to say goodbye to our loved ones.
While they laughed.
