Boris Johnson: Partygate has not disappeared forever and Prime Minister could still be shown red card by voters – Ian Swanson

The scenes from the war in Ukraine get more horrific by the day.

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From frightened families huddled in basements and women and children piling onto trains to escape to safety, we have moved to the deliberate shelling of civilians promised safe passage out of besieged cities and homes and hospitals being targeted.

The desperate plight of people who just a few weeks ago were going about their normal lives puts everything in perspective. Issues which we previously judged of immense importance now look almost trivial by comparison with what is happening in Kyiv and other cities under Russian bombardment.

Boris Johnson's Partygate scandal is one such issue. Before Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, it had been the main talking point in British politics for weeks.

Now the questions over staff enjoying wine and finger food in the Downing Street garden on a sunny afternoon, taking a wheeled suitcase to go and buy wine or dancing the night away on the eve of Prince Philip's funeral don't seem so pressing.

But is it too soon for the Prime Minister to think he can put Partygate behind him?

Boris Johnson is portrayed by supporters as leading the West's response to the war in Ukraine (Picture: Jonathan Brady/PA)

Mr Johnson is portrayed by supporters as leading the West's response to the situation in Ukraine – though the UK’s refusal to waive visa requirements for refugees make that difficult to sustain – and it has been suggested this war could have the same effect as the Falklands conflict had for Margaret Thatcher.

Back in 1982, she was facing growing internal dissent and the party was lagging in the polls when she dispatched a naval task force to the South Atlantic after the Argentinian invasion. Her robust stand and the recapture of the islands gave her a huge boost and she won a 144-seat majority at the 1983 general election.

Tory MPs who were previously calling for Mr Johnson to resign because of Downing Street’s blatant disregard for Covid rules when the rest of society was under severe restrictions have fallen silent, judging an international crisis is not the time to be changing Prime Minister.

Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross, who was branded “lightweight” by Jacob Rees-Mogg after saying Mr Johnson should quit, has withdrawn his letter of no confidence, arguing the Prime Minister “needs our backing”. And Mr Johnson will be attending the Scottish Tory conference in Aberdeen at the weekend.

But despite the natural urge to come together at a time like this, the Partygate scandal has not disappeared forever. The police are still investigating 12 allegations of lockdown breaches at Number Ten.

Mr Johnson waits to hear whether he will be fined for breaking the law. And we have yet to see the full report by senior civil servant Sue Gray, whose initial findings included "failures of leadership and judgement”.

The Prime Minister may survive a vote of confidence among his own MPs if one is called.

But if he is still leader when the next election comes, he will have to face the voters’ verdict. And they may well decide a man who behaves as if it’s one rule for him and another for the rest of us and thought it was OK to party while telling others they could not see family, visit relatives in care homes or be with dying loved ones should not be Prime Minister.

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