Imani Adesanya
The Covid-19 pandemic has been characterised by tragedy and sacrifice. Many have lost those that they hold dearest, livelihoods have been destroyed and life has been put on hold.
When the Prime Minister announced the country would be going into lockdown in March 2020, no one foresaw the trials and tribulations the country would go through. In a time of crisis, we look to our leaders to display unity and give us a sense of hope and faith.
But the response from Boris Johnson’s government has been anything but. The hypocrisy pouring out of Number 10 has been a sharp contradiction of what strong leadership should be.
“The general public gave up a large amount of freedom only to witness figures at the top break the rules and face no consequences.”
The issue of hypocrisy first arose in April 2020, when the public learned of the Barnard Castle incident. On 27th March 2020, the PM’s senior advisor, Dominic Cummings, drove from his home in East London to Durham after suspecting his wife had contracted the virus.
After he was cleared to go back to work, he wanted to travel back to London. On 12th April, he decided to test his eyesight and see if he was able to drive safely by taking a trip to Barnard Castle. At the time, this was in breach of the regulations set out by the government he served, which outlined that he should have been staying at home when he suspected that his wife had the virus.
The Prime Minister’s inability to condemn these actions and sack Mr Cummings was met with public outrage. It started to emphasise the notion of “one rule for them.” The general public gave up a large amount of freedom only to witness figures at the top break the rules and face no consequences.
“It highlights the clear disconnect between the people in power and the people ruled by the powerful.”
The incident with Dominic Cummings was where my frustration with the government began, as this is where the hypocrisy started to blossom. The idea someone could get away with breaking the rules without robust consequences, simply because they were in a privileged position, made me realise how little the government actually cared for the general public.
After the Barnard Castle incident, one might have assumed the government learned its lesson. Another incident like this would cause an even larger amount of distrust and concern. However, fast forward one year later and we are met with the same issue.
The now-former Health Secretary Matt Hancock was caught on CCTV kissing his colleague, a breach of the social distancing rules. The extent of hypocrisy here was even greater: Hancock broke the rules he had been a part of creating and promoting to the public.
The Government was met with outrage and, to make matters worse, Boris Johnson defended Hancock. Number 10 said the PM had accepted an apology from Mr Hancock and considered the case “closed”. Hancock would later resign, arguably undermining the authority of the PM.
“This yet again demonstrates how out of touch the Prime Minister is with the British public,”
Again, the Government revealed themselves to be hypocrites, leaving many people feeling betrayed and used. Most had lived through the toughest 18 months of their lives and suffered great losses. After all of this, the reality that Government ministers could simply break the rules without facing the repercussions seemed like a punch in the face. It highlights the clear disconnect between the people in power and the people ruled by the powerful.
A common occurrence during this Pandemic has been the constant pursuit of U-turns by the government after facing large amounts of pressure and criticism. The most recent U-turn, which occurred after just two and a half hours, was another example of Government hypocrisy.
Despite being contacted by NHS Test and Trace, the PM and the Chancellor revealed on 18th July that they would not be self-isolating. This came at the end of a week where more than half a million people were told to self-isolate. At this point, I honestly wasn’t surprised. This incident became just another occasion of the government refusing to follow rules that they constantly preached to the public, yet again demonstrating how out of touch the Prime Minister is with the British public.
“The public constantly has to remind the government of its responsibilities.”
The PM and Chancellor faced heavy criticism. While millions of people sacrificed their livelihoods and freedom to comply with the rules, those in power were suddenly able to take a different approach. The hashtag #deletetheapp trended that morning in response to their decision; seemingly, people became fed up with obeying a government that constantly disregards its own rules. This clearly undermines government authority. The app is important in displaying accurate figures. It makes sure the right people self isolate themselves to contain the virus. If a vast amount of people deleted the app, it would cause problems as cases would go undetected. This creates more chaos for the Government.
Due to the public pressure, it was later announced that both Rishi Sunak and Boris Johnson would be be self-isolating, further displaying the weak leadership the country has faced. The public constantly has to remind the government of its responsibilities.
“Whether the frustration these circumstances were met with is translated at the ballot box remains to be seen.”
It is clearly one rule for them and another for us. It should not be this way. The people at the top will continue to act as they wish simply because they can. The lack of accountability also means they will continue to get away with it. There have been several occasions where The Government has shown hypocrisy, leading to frustration from the general public. However, despite the fact that this hypocrisy has largely defined the Covid-19 pandemic response, the government has time on its side.
The rollout of the vaccine has been successful. By the time of the next general election, the British public may have forgotten about Government mishandlings during the pandemic. Whether the frustration these circumstances were met with is translated at the ballot box remains to be seen.
Featured image courtesy of Michael D. Beckwith on Unsplash. Image license found here. No changes were made to this image.
Imani A
Hi, I am a 16 year old A level student who hopes to study Politics and International relations. I love debating different topics and expressing my opinion!