Forum Topic

Labour's Lockdown Lies

Oh dear ...🙄"In a sensational U-turn, Labour acknowledged that Angela Rayner was also at the event on April 30 last year at which Sir Keir was filmed enjoying a beer with officials at a time when indoor socialising was banned. A Labour spokesman said last night: 'Angela was present.' A party source claimed the previous denials had been 'an honest mistake'. It directly contradicts assurances given to the Daily Mail over the past three months that Mrs Rayner was 'not there'. The admission came only after this newspaper confronted Labour officials with video evidence that Mrs Rayner had joined Sir Keir at an online rally for activists filmed in the Durham offices of Labour MP Mary Foy where the party leader was later seen drinking. The extraordinary revelation raises questions about whether Labour's deputy leader also broke lockdown rules."https://mol.im/a/10764879

Sue Hammond ● 1376d26 Comments

You really are repulsive. This comment is disgusting.

Michael Winstanley ● 1374d

She joked with 4 MPs in recent weeks that she likes to tease Boris at PMQs with her Sharon Stone impression.Now she is playing the victim after the Daily Mail article.We know Boris is a randy sod as he has at least 7 children with different women, but whether he gets tempted to chase Rayner's ginger axe wound is still to be determined.

Tim Wood ● 1374d

John, the first mistake I think could have been honest, perhaps she  wasn't on the guest list who knows??But subsequent mistakes look unprofessional if nothing else.My understanding is that the lockdown rules were not as tight at the time but given that the timings of the various rules made little sense and the party is campaigning not on policies but professionalism it doesn't look good and the timing is awful.Much better to campaign on policies IMO.

Ed Robinson ● 1375d

"Questioned by the BBC, Mr Parish said he would co-operate fully with the inquiry and would await Ms Stone's findings before commenting on the allegation.When asked if he made a mistake and opened something on his phone in error, he said: "I did, but let the inquiry look at that.""Of course it's embarrassing and it's embarrassing for my wife and family and that's my main concern at the moment," he said, "I have a very supportive wife and I thank her for that."Mr Parish said he had told his wife that the reports concerned him on Friday afternoon and said he would "not remain" an MP if he was "found guilty"." (BBC)Surely he must know what happened.

David Ainsworth ● 1375d

'A Labour spokesman said last night: 'Angela was present.' A party source claimed the previous denials had been 'an honest mistake'. It directly contradicts assurances given to the Daily Mail over the past three months that Mrs Rayner was 'not there'.I always smile when the term 'honest mistake' is used.How can you make a mistake over the fact of whether you were or were not at a particular event at a particular time unless of course you suffer from some form of clinical dementia or memory deficiency.No what is really meant is that 'I lied and you caught me out' !

John Hawkes ● 1375d

Gosh yes - this smacks of desperation ! Whataboutery indeed.

Lynne McNulty ● 1375d

In order to deflect the attention away from his #Partygate lies, Kier Starmer has just announced that he is pregnant!

Tim Wood ● 1375d

The Bring a Bottle party invitation during lockdown surely showed the Downing St laisser faire attitude which comes from the top.  New Zealand and Senegal - Senegal one of the poorest if not the poorest country in the world had the best pandemic protection plans including swift lockdowns to keep the virus out.

Philippa Bond ● 1375d

Might be a bit complicated for the above posters/usual suspects but basicly what is happening here is the tu quoque fallacy.https://www.thoughtco.com/tu-quoque-logical-fallacy-1692568

Michael Winstanley ● 1375d

Is this not an uncouth way of diverting attention?I do not agree with anybody having or enjoying parties during times of tight lockdown.It is (perhaps not?) surprising that a photograph of Starmer having a beer bottle in his hand taken from outside and I cannot see a huge gathering around him, suddenly becoming the scandal of the decade?Hmmmmmm

Ivonne Holliday ● 1375d

Yes, let's see what the outcome is of the request for the police to re-investigate the incident (which I understand they aren't at the moment) and comment then. I don't believe this event involves any potential misleading statements made to the HoC or a series of events, which is the problem with party gate.

Michael Ixer ● 1375d

Yeah, I do, and this false equivalence is not going to persuade anyone. If Starmer and/or Rayner are fined for breaking some law, come back to me.

Michael Winstanley ● 1375d

YepAll the time the party have denied that Rayner was in attendance an honest leader would have surely issued a correction immediately.No left it a year and claims honest mistake.My ar.e its neither a mistake nor honest.

Andy Pike ● 1375d

The saying 'pot calling the kettle black' springs to mind.. Starmer continues to shoot himself in the foot...

Penelope Becker ● 1375d

DAILY MAIL COMMENT: Call time on Partygate and let us all move onBy DAILY MAIL COMMENTPUBLISHED: 01:37, 13 April 2022 ---------------------David Osland on Twitter:-"The Daily Mail insists partygate is a non-story in time of war. Then gives over its front page to doubling down on a story about Angela Rayner's legs."

David Ainsworth ● 1375d

I assume Mr Winstanley you stick by this posting of 22nd AprilIt is much like the kind of stupidity which might lead someone to arrange an illegal party, attend it, be photographed at it, yet claim publicly they had no knowledge of any parties taking place, expecting to be believed. Even more so, much like the stupidity of someone actually believing them, even to the point of defending them.you could probably add to the stupidity when Mrs Rayner has repeatedly denied even being there and so have the press office.now what kind of stupidity is that?

Andy Pike ● 1376d

Beware when turning over stones you never know what may crawl out. 😁😁the lesser spotted Starmer with a beer or the red faced Rayner at a party. Oh dear oh dear what a shame.No but it wasnt a party it was a group of work colleagues having a wind down after a busy day. Heard that one before somewhere ? Surely not .Oh and Mrs Rayner wasnt there. You got it on film.? Where did you get that film? Oh off our website. Sorry it was a mistake when we said she wasnt there!!!! These things happen.Same script different players.

Andy Pike ● 1376d

@Tim 10.49In my opinion it's worse behaviour by Smarmer because the people he was drinking with in Durham were not his regular work colleagues that he would be  in close contact with every day.  The people who had a drink with Boris were with him everyday anyway so there is some mitigation in his case.

Sue Hammond ● 1376d

I guessed that, when the Mail's original Rayner story went wrong for them, they would set every one of their journalists on investigating Rayner in detail.

David Ainsworth ● 1376d

It's a fair point that Starmer never made the rules for the covid restrictions, but he spent 2 years pushing for harsher, longer and tougher lockdowns. He constantly opposed restrictions being lifted, whilst Tory backbenchers had to do his job for him and challenge the lockdowns.So the revelations about the drinks in Durham are important. It is showing him up to be an utter hypocrite like Boris.

Tim Wood ● 1376d

Depressingly true!

Matt Palmer ● 1376d

Captain Hindsight continues to score own goal after own goal.After the Boris #Partygate lies Labour should be way ahead in the polls, but because they are such a shambles themselves they can't make up any ground.Labour only managed around 20% of the adult population at the last GE, and if you take out the 3 Blair wins they haven't won any other GE since 1974.Labour just don't have any credibility, and it seems the Tories are untouchable with there being no viable alternative.

Tim Wood ● 1376d

Having spent months slaughtering Boris for a slice of cake you now want it all to be forgotten as captain hindsight and his gang of liars are exposed for exactly the same thing.Theirs is worse though as they have been preaching how good they were whilst Boris had a slice of cake.

Andy Pike ● 1376d

All this faux outrage over nothing is ridiculous and we should be focusing on real concerns.  There are much more important things to get bothered about.

Michael Winstanley ● 1376d

It isn't meant to be Clifford. It just proves that Smarmer is not only a hypocrite but a liar too. Oh and Rayner must have forgotten she was also there, and nobody else who was present spotted her in the room either.  She's such a quiet demure little lady perhaps she was sitting in a corner and Smarmer just didn't realise she was there?🙄

Sue Hammond ● 1376d

This is no deflection from Johnsons woppers.

Clifford Cowell ● 1376d