In recent days revelations have continued to surface surrounding parties in Downing Street, leading to both the Prime Minister and the Chancellor being fined for their involvement. Making them the first Prime Minister, and first Chancellor, to have broken the law whilst in office. Richmond (Yorks) Labour Party is hugely disappointed that whilst our constituents were making huge sacrifices to contain the virus, often sacrificing gatherings on birthdays, weddings and even funerals, sometimes unable to see loved ones in their last days, the very people who set the rules were not following the rules.

The fines are proof that while the rest of us worked so hard to contain the spread of the virus the government felt it was so above the law they did not have to abide by the laws they themselves had created. We believe that they now lack the moral leadership to continue and must resign.

The chancellor’s year has gone from bad to worse, it’s no surprise that he has lost control of the economy, with rising inflation and interest rates, anaemic growth, and wages falling whilst completely failing to address the concerns of ordinary people on the cost of living. On top of that he’s shown himself to be interested more in protecting the interests of the rich and powerful and not the people of the UK, ignoring loopholes allowing his own family’s assets to pay less tax to the UK economy.

Labour works hard for local people and we need desperately to inject some honesty and integrity into our politics. In the Chancellor’s constituency of Richmond (Yorks) the Labour Party have fantastic, hard working, local candidates who know full well the impact the pandemic has had on ordinary people, who are listening to your concerns with an incredibly positive and forward looking manifesto, and offering a genuine alternative.