Boris Johnson is the problem, not the solution, as Covid crisis escalates – Andrew Vine

Rationally, I accepted everything he said, because it was undoubtedly based on scientists’ advice that, without immediate action, the country – and the NHS – could be overwhelmed by a huge wave of Omicron cases.

Boris Johnson disarray puts nation’s health at risk as Omicron emergency declared – The Yorkshire Post says

And yet another part of me found it difficult to accept for the simple reason that it has become all but impossible to believe anything the Prime Minister 
says.

I wasn’t alone in that. Conversations with friends and family have confirmed that they too feel this unsettling ambivalence when watching Mr Johnson.

At a point when we should be able to place our trust in the Prime Minister – whatever our political affiliations – to act in the country’s best interests, his own conduct undermines the authority he ought to have and breeds cynicism about his motives amongst the public.

Such is his shifty, dishonest and self-serving nature, it immediately occurred to me and the people I know that at least part of the reason for the announcement was to divert attention from the political problems swirling around Mr Johnson.

We all immediately told ourselves that this was not the case, and the drive to give everybody maximum protection against the new strain of Covid is the right and responsible thing to do.

But the fact we even thought it goes to the heart of why Mr Johnson is no longer the right person to lead the country.

By his own conduct, he has become a central element of the problems that Covid presents, instead of being the solution. He has squandered the trust of Britain’s people that gave him an 80-seat majority only two years ago, and that undermines the entire Government’s ability to deal with the ongoing pandemic.

Even Mr Johnson’s own MPs – including those from red wall seats who owed their election at least in part to his appeal to voters – don’t trust him. That much will become apparent tonight when substantial numbers of Conservatives rebel against the Government’s package of restrictions, leaving it in the humiliating position of relying on Labour votes to get the measures through the Commons.

And on Thursday, voters in the North Shropshire by-election are likely to give the clearest indication of the collapse of trust in Mr Johnson. It’s a safe bet that even if the Conservatives hold the seat, their 23,000-vote majority will be much reduced.

Coping with Covid requires national consensus just as much now as it did in the early months of last year when we went into the first lockdown. The willingness of us all to do our bit to limit the spread of infection, and help as individuals to prevent the NHS being swamped remains vital, yet the leader of the country stands exposed as the wrong person to rally Britain’s people to that cause.

It is utterly inconceivable that the vaccine refuseniks who will potentially occupy so many NHS critical care beds are going to be persuaded by Mr Johnson to act responsibly and have their jabs.

And there is a real risk that those who have so far followed the rules become lax about doing so because they are simply sick of the sight of the Prime Minister on television attempting to project gravitas and sincerity when his record tells a different story.

Last year’s Christmas party at Downing Street when the rest of the country was prohibited from meeting loved ones, some of whom were dying alone, and Mr Johnson’s contemptible evasiveness over what happened and what he knew, has terminally undermined his authority to lead on Covid.

For a man who has always been acutely aware of his own image and skilful at projecting an appealing persona, Mr Johnson appears curiously myopic about the damage he has caused himself. He cannot blame anybody else for this. It is entirely his own doing, and talk of a chaotic Downing Street operation in which Mr Johnson lacks sensible advisers entirely misses the point.

The problem does not lie with the people around the Prime Minister. The problem is him. There is no way back for Mr Johnson from the point to which he has brought himself – people have concluded there is a streak of dishonesty in the Prime Minister that keeps resurfacing in his words and actions. These are not aberrations. This is the way he is.

A year ago, in common with many people, I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Not any more. The Tories’ greatest electoral asset has become their worst liability. He may not be deposed by his own party any time soon, but he is finished all the same.

But the really worrying thing, in the meantime, is what the lack of public trust in him means for the course, and management, of the pandemic.

Support The Yorkshire Post and become a subscriber today. Your subscription will help us to continue to bring quality news to the people of Yorkshire. In return, you’ll see fewer ads on site, get free access to our app, receive exclusive members-only offers and access to all premium content and columns. Click here to subscribe.