Today saw a really important debate and then vote in the House of Commons, namely a debate on how to respond to the privileges committee investigation into Boris Johnson and his serial lies.  Here’s why I think that David Simmonds doesn’t care.

Why Was This Important?

This boils down to a fundamental tenet of democracy, namely that politicians addressing the House must tell the truth, which allows everyone to rationally decide whether to support them or not.  Boris Johnson flouted this rule by lying repeatedly and brazenly about all manner of issues.  In the end, his own party forced him to resign, but frankly it took them far too long, and members of the Conservative Party like David Simmonds must take some of the blame for allowing this reprobate to continue in a position of power for far longer than he should have.

Nevertheless, this was an opportunity for redemption.  If David Simmonds had bothered to actually turn up to the debate, had listened to the passionate speeches on both sides of the House, had listened to the testimony of MPs who talked about their constituents who missed loved ones’ funerals because of the rules, he would have heard about the sacrifices that the country made while Johnson was partying and lying about partying to the House.  On listening to those speeches, he then could have made an informed choice on whether to support, reject or abstain from the vote.

He didn’t.

He didn’t even turn up.

He didn’t care to listen to the multitude of stories from MPs about constituents of theirs who suffered through Covid.

In my view, this is callous uncaring on show.

In the end, only seven MPs voted against the proposed measures from the privileges committee.  Seven.  This was overwhelming in every sense of the word, and  it is disgusting that an elected representative from the neighbouring constituency to Uxbridge & South Ruislip would feel it is even remotely appropriate to skip such an important debate and the subsequent vote.

I sincerely hope that all residents of Ruislip, Northwood & Pinner write to David Simmonds and tell him that you want him to resign given he has shown that he just doesn’t care about parliamentary integrity.  He doesn’t care about what a senior Conservative was up to in the neighbouring constituency. In short, he doesn’t care about you.

David Simmonds Doesn't Care - I Do

I am a huge believer in honesty, openness and transparency in politics, and I want to see politicians held to the highest standards of integrity.  Seeing someone miss such a vital debate makes me really angry, as it is tantamount to claiming that the person in question – in this case David Simmonds – doesn’t care about integrity at all.  To me that’s unacceptable.  Hopefully it is to you too.

I want to be your next MP.  I want to be part of the solution to the increasing problem of mistrust for politicians, and I want to be absolutely above reproach in everything I do on your behalf.

I want you to be able to be proud of your MP, and right now I think that’s impossible.