Rupa Huq on Her Inbox Full of Outrage Over Parties
Ealing Central and Acton MP calls on the Prime Minister to go
A fraught encounter between Rupa Huq and Boris Johnson during the 2015 general election on Churchfield Road, Acton
Happy New year – if one can still say that? We’re only days into 2022 but it’s already turning out to be a bumper one with heavy news agenda: NoVax DjoCovid banned from Oz? Prince Andrew losing all his privileges? Chinese interference with UK MPs? All these would be big stories any other time but they all landed on the same day when we’ve also had to digest revelations regarding the plethora of parties that seem to have engulfed Downing Street throughout the entire Covid period.
One would be bad enough, two may be a coincidence but the ever mushrooming number of rave ups we hear about daily at Number 10 have shocked and sickened us all forming a distinct pattern. From the BYOB gatherings of 2020 to those accompanied with suitcases of booze from the Co-op further down the line via Christmas secret Santa bashes as the Queen attended Prince Philip’s funeral as a solitary figure symbolising duty and dignity the gory details seem never-ending. Throughout the same period us mere mortals had purchases limited to “shop considerately” as we queued at supermarkets and were banned from seeing loved ones in care homes and hospitals as the nation experienced a covid death toll now at 150,000 and rising.
As a red wall Tory MP said to me in the lift en route to PMQs this week, “If the PM’s broken the law, he has to go. No two ways about it.” Increasingly Conservatives are saying he can’t last, yet it seems in the eyes of Boris rules are for little people. Contrasting the edicts from the Number 10 podium to happenings in the garden it’s about “do as I say not as I do” – his grudging semi apology underlined this. He still thinks he broke no rules as the setting was adjoining a work setting. The only thing he regrets is getting caught. Of course other parties have come to light since. The police, let’s not forget, prosecuted people for less serious infractions of the restrictions.
Johnson must do the decent thing now and resign. Every poll shows that he has lost the confidence of the nation. He has lied to the House of Commons and brings the office of Prime Minister and indeed the whole of politics into disrepute. My inbox is full of outrage. People made enormous sacrifices. Our valiant NHS were on their knees – indeed they and most other keyworkers would be sacked for drinking alcohol on the job. He hides behind an enquiry but he has commissioned this. It is concerning that he himself with assess the course of action taken consequently. In the case of Priti Patel, whilst it was found she did bully Home Office civil servants BoJo decided no action would be taken. If his MPs won’t throw him under the bus and the investigation has no teeth he should not cling on by his fingertips but for the good of the country GO!
Let’s hope the PM is job hunting this year. If you are too you may be in luck, I have a plum post going in my office. It’d suit someone with an appetite for administration and sharp political antenna who can oversee outputs of me and my busy team and doesn’t mind dipping into all aspects of our work from formulating questions to ask the PM, handling the media and processing problems of constituents in order to resolve them. It’s a pacey and exciting workplace and you would work in a mixture of Parliament/ Acton and right now remotely. People with a familiarity with Ealing, Acton and Chiswick in terms of geography, demography and organisations always have the edge over other applicants for me.
More details are here: send on a CV, short written exercise and covering letter. Pay and exact title would be decided depending on successful applicant’s experience but could range from £22,402 and £48,844. More details at w4mp, the site for everyone working for an MP. Applications by email, closes 24 January.
Rupa Huq
MP for Ealing Central and Acton
Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We've always done that and won't be changing, in fact we'd like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we'd be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you'd like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |
January 17, 2022