There are various facts and figures that are supposed to illustrate the severity of the defeat for Boris Johnson in a constituency that even many Britons have so far heard nothing or nothing about. The Conservatives lost Thursday in North Shropshire, a pro-Brexit constituency that had been firmly in Tory hands for nearly 200 years. Boris Johnson was not up for election there, but a certain Neil Shastri-Hurst. One of these facts, which can be called a fun fact, shows that he can probably do nothing for his defeat: Helen Morgan, the victorious Liberal Democrat, is now allowed to represent the constituency in the British Parliament in Westminster, but she made it in the local election failed to get one of the 74 seats on Shropshire Council in May.
The Shropshire people voted for Helen Morgan, but for many the main concern was not to vote for the Tories, as evidenced by the low turnout. There are several reasons for this.
The farmers are angry. Because of the sandwich thing
Shropshire is an agricultural area, and the farmers are mad at Johnson, at least since the sandwich thing: a few months ago they complained about having to kill a lot of pigs because they could no longer afford to keep them. Johnson said casually that the animals would die anyway to be made into a delicious sandwich. The prime minister doesn’t understand us, said the farmers at the time. Johnson could have already noticed that something was going in the wrong direction. But he has shown many times that self-reflection is not one of his strengths.
The by-election now became necessary because MP Owen Paterson had to resign at the beginning of November. Paterson, elected seven times since 1997, sparked a corruption scandal involving part-time jobs for members of parliament. Johnson had defended Paterson, even tried to change the rules in his favor. In addition, there are now the revelations about parties in Downing Street during lockdown times that never end. And last but not least, Johnson’s handling of the pandemic.
The pandemic exposes many new weaknesses
Especially in times of pandemics, heads of government are also crisis managers, and Boris Johnson seems overwhelmed in this role. A few days ago, a connoisseur put it aptly: Theresa May had not slept since the beginning of the pandemic to get the situation under control, but you don’t have to worry about Boris Johnson’s sleep.
At the beginning of this year, the all-out pandemic covered up Johnson’s weaknesses, but now some are only being revealed in the first place. It is hardly surprising that he is constantly twisting figures and twisting facts to refer to alleged successes in the fight against the coronavirus, while the country is in fact headed for another lockdown. His relationship with the truth is known to be special, especially when under pressure.
Sensitivity, integrity, sovereignty, reliability, these are values that are needed to run a country. Especially in times of crisis. Boris Johnson has been showing for weeks, if not months, that he is missing all of that. Perhaps this has now become clear to some Tory voters outside of North Shropshire.