The Liberal Democrat candidate for Boris Johnson’s old seat says it’s personal for him after losing his dad to COVID-19 during one of the reported Partygate incidents.

Blaise Baquiche, 31, a former policy advisor for the Tories in the EU, is standing in the Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election, and said he wants to send a clear message to the Conservatives.

He said: “I lost my father in the very week that Johnson partied.

“His lack of contrition is sickening, and I feel I represent hundreds and thousands of families across the country who feel the same way.”

Baquiche’s father died in the week the former PM reportedly attended a prosecco-fuelled drinks party on 14 January 2021, at the height of a national lockdown.

The Lib Dem candidate explained that standing in the Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election was a direct response to the way Tories dealt with this scandal.

He said: “Not one of Johnson’s colleagues round this neck of the woods had the guts to resign or say anything about his conduct, and I think that speaks volumes.

“Nobody opens the front door and instantly starts talking about the horrors of lockdown and Partygate.

“But when we bring up Partygate, people are reminded of the horrendous state of the Tory party and that they backed a proven liar.”

No pact

Opinion polls have Labour as the front-runner for the Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election, but Baquiche dismissed notions of standing aside and rebuffed notions that the Lib Dems and Labour had any plan for a possible coalition.

He said: “I’m going hell for leather for this seat. I want to give every voter with Lib Dem values a chance to vote for me.

“It would be foolish to predict the outcome of the next General Election but there is no pact, there is no alliance, there is no deal with the Labour Party.”

Picture credit: John Russell