- Call for Shaun Bailey to Renounce Peerage
- Controversial Party and Apologies
- Debate over Stripping Honors
Tobias Ellwood, a senior Conservative lawmaker, suggests that Shaun Bailey should consider renouncing his peerage in light of the lockdown party he threw for his failed London mayoral campaign staff.
Guests were invited to “jingle and mingle” at the Christmas party in 2020, during a time when indoor social gatherings were prohibited.
Mr. Bailey is poised to become a lifelong member of the House of Lords, following Boris Johnson’s nomination for a peerage.
He stated that it was “up to others” to determine whether he would assume his seat.
The House of Commons defence committee chair continued, “There are significant questions that I cannot answer at the moment.”
It follows The Mirror’s weekend video showing Mr. Bailey’s campaign staff drinking and dancing at a London Tory HQ party.
In the video, someone states filming is acceptable “as long as we don’t broadcast that we’re, like, breaking the rules.”
‘Very angry’
Guests were asked to save the date for “the Shaun Bailey for London Holiday Party” and to “jingle and mingle”.
It was sent to thirty individuals on behalf of Ben Mallet, a former Boris Johnson aide seen conversing with guests in the most recent footage and who was bestowed an OBE by the former prime minister in his resignation honors list last month.
At the time, London was subject to Tier-2 restrictions that prohibited socializing indoors.
The Conservative Party stated that four individuals were disciplined for the incident, but did not name them.
Mr. Bailey apologised for attending the event and appeared in a late 2021 still shot.
On Monday, he apologized again, claiming he hadn’t seen the video but was “very upset” by it.
“The buck ultimately stops with me,” he said.
“I didn’t realize that it turned into something after I left,” he added.
He has stated that it is “up to others to decide” if he takes his seat.
He added that he deemed it a “tremendous honor” and that he would like to “continue working for the rest of the nation and London as well.”
The co-founder of a campaign organisation representing Covid victims’ families said those implicated should be disgraced.
Matt Fowler, whose father Ian passed away in 2020, told the Guardian. For many of us, it is much more challenging to witness this in person.” Overall, it has been a truly gut-wrenching experience.
The gathering on 14 December 2020 was organized by Mr. Bailey’s campaign team, a Conservative member of the London Assembly who was standing for mayor of the capital at the time.
Removing accolades
After the still image surfaced, the Metropolitan Police investigated but decided not to take action against those who attended. Since then, it has stated that it will examine the new footage.
Sir Mark Rowley, the chief of the Metropolitan Police, stated on Monday that the force was unaware of the video during the investigation and that it “tells a story far beyond the original photograph” of the gathering.
“I need to let a team work through that, but I think we can all guess which way it will go,” he said in a News Agents podcast.
Life peers may voluntarily resign from the House of Lords, but legislation is necessary to terminate their membership.
However, Hannah White of the Institute for Government told Today that “in theory, they would retain the title of the peerage.”
The Cabinet Office’s Forfeiture Committee may advise the king to revoke MBEs and OBEs.
However, it has no investigative authority and can only report “official investigations’ findings.”
Sunday, housing secretary Michael Gove stated that he did not believe honorees who attended the party should forfeit their awards.
He added that “Boris Johnson decides who is on that list” and that the government must adhere to “due process.”
