Downing Street Christmas party: Majority of UK public say Boris Johnson should resign over video leak row

More than half of UK adults believe the Prime Minister should resign over the escalating row around allegations a Christmas party was held in Number 10 last year.

During Prime Minister’s Questions, Boris Johnson apologised for the video footage of Downing Street staff joking about attending a party while London and the rest of the UK was under Covid-19 restrictions.

Allegra Stratton, the Prime Minister’s former press secretary and who is seen joking in the footage, has resigned over the scandal.

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Allegra Stratton resigns following leaked video laughing over Christmas party
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is facing calls to resign over the Christmas party scandalPrime Minister Boris Johnson is facing calls to resign over the Christmas party scandal
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is facing calls to resign over the Christmas party scandal
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Mr Johnson has launched an inquiry into the party and whether any Covid rules were broken following a week of denials, obfuscation and opacity around the controversy.

The SNP has called for the Prime Minister’s resignation over the matter, something a new snap poll by Savanta ComRes states is backed by more than half of UK adults.

In total, 54 per cent say Mr Johnson should resign, including 33 per cent of 2019 Conservative voters, while 30 per cent say he should not.

According to the pollster, this number is slightly higher than when there were calls for Mr Johnson’s resignation earlier this year following allegations he said he’d rather see “bodies pile up” than order another lockdown.

Ms Stratton’s resignation was also demanded by 79 per cent of those surveyed prior to her announcement on Wednesday afternoon.

Three quarters (76 per cent) say he should apologise, while 29 per cent say they are now less likely to follow Covid restrictions due to the story.

More than four in five of UK adults (83 per cent) say they believe the public has been let down due to the scandal, with the same percentage saying those who lost loved ones to Covid have been let down.

The survey also found 72 per cent backing a police investigation into any potential wrongdoing or illegal activity connected to the party.

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Chris Hopkins, political research director at Savanta ComRes, said the public was taking a “dim view” of the scandal, claiming it felt as if the “PM’s rope is shortening after each governmental mishap”.

The poll interviewed 1,036 UK adults aged 18 or over online on December 8.

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