21% cite Tory Xmas parties as 46% say they would not follow Covid mixing rules

46% of people have said that they will not comply if the government introduces rules preventing them mixing with others outside of their household, with 21% of those citing the Downing Street parties as the reason, according to a new poll.

Following a week in which Boris Johnson has faced allegations of dishonesty, after denying Covid rules were broken by his staff last year, YouGov has today published research into the impact of the story on compliance with Covid rules.

21% (10% of the overall population) of the 46% cited “the government not sticking to rules/the Downing Street parties” as the reason they would not comply with the rules should ministers decide to impose additional household mixing restrictions as they did over the festive period last year.

Seven in ten Britons, 70%, told YouGov that they now have little to no confidence in Boris Johnson to make the right decisions when it comes to Covid. This is up ten points on the same question asked by the pollster in July this year.

The polling followed an announcement by the Prime Minister on Tuesday that England will revert to ‘plan B’ restrictions due to the “remorseless logic of exponential growth” as applied to the spread of the Omicron variant.

But MPs, including Conservatives, have accused Johnson of using plan B as a “diversionary tactic” to deflect attention away from reports that a Covid rule-breaking party was held in Downing Street in the run-up to Christmas last year.

Claims emerged last week that between 40 and 50 people attended two events where they were crammed together “cheek by jowl”, in what one source described as a “Covid nightmare”, while the capital was under strict restrictions.

The story broke soon after government public health expert Dr Jenny Harries advised that people should cut down on socialising this Christmas as it emerged that the new Omicron variant had been spreading across the country.

The Prime Minister was accused of dishonesty after footage emerged of senior Downing Street staffers joking about the alleged party, in which Johnson’s then spokesperson Allegra Stratton joked that it “was not socially distanced”.

Following the November lockdown last year, each area across the country were placed by the government into varying ‘tiers’, of which there were initially three, determining what people were and were not allowed to do.

The Prime Minister placed London, which had the highest Covid case rates in the country, into tier three on December 16th. This meant people were banned from all indoor mixing except within their household bubbles.

According to the rules in place at the time, the only legally permissible way under the regulations for either of the reported Downing Street gatherings to have taken place was if it was “reasonably necessary for work”.

One source told The Mirror that there were “many social gatherings” in No 10 in the run-up to Christmas last year while the public faced restrictions, suggesting that there were “always parties” in the flat Boris Johnson shares with wife.

Johnson, during Prime Minister’s Questions last week, said that no Covid rules were broken but did not deny that the party had taken place on December 18th. Keir Starmer told parliament that “both of those things can’t be true”.

Wes Streeting confirmed this morning that Labour MPs will back the government in an upcoming vote on the introduction of tighter public health restrictions detailed under the government’s ‘plan B’ for combatting Covid this winter.

The Shadow Health Secretary’s comments followed reports that dozens of Tories are planning on abstaining or rebelling on the vote, prompting fears from ministers that they may have to rely on Labour to get the measures passed.

Two polls published today in the wake of the allegations have put Labour ahead of the Conservatives. YouGov has Labour up four points on last week on 37% with the Tories behind on 33%, down three points. The opposition is up one point on 40% and the Conservatives down two points on 34%, according to Survation.