Labour Party Mayor Censured For Suggesting UK PM “Completely Deserved” To Get Sick

Prime Minister Boris Johnson was in “stable” condition Wednesday but remains in intensive care after spending Tuesday night there. Johnson was hospitalized with COVID-19 on Sunday. 

Sheila Oakes, Labour Party mayor of Heanor in Derbyshire and a district councilor, took to Facebook this week and said Johnson “completely deserves this [contracting COVID-19] and he is one of the worst PMs we’ve ever had.” 

Oakes’ comments ignited a firestorm on Facebook and many other social media platforms, and people have asked her to resign. She stood by her posts saying:

“Johnson has done absolutely nothing for the UK – have you heard how the nurses and doctors have no PPE, that there were not enough ventilators, that the NHS is massively underfunded and yet it is having to deal with this virus.”

A spokesperson for the Amber Valley Labor Group said Oakes had been booted from the party after it was bombarded with complaints after her social media remarks. 

“Following comments from Cllr Oakes on social media, which we utterly condemn, the Amber Valley Labor group withdrew the whip this morning, and can now announce this now the whip has spoken to Cllr Oakes. 

“This means that Cllr Oakes does not currently sit as a Labor councilor and further due process will follow. 

“We wish the Prime Minister, and all who are suffering with this awful disease, a speedy recovery and send love and solidarity to them and their families,” Amber Valley Labor Group said in a statement. 

Oakes eventually apologized for her comments that ‘upset people.’ 

She told BBC News: “I didn’t think what I said would upset so many people. It came across as not a nice thing to say.” 

“I’m concerned about nurses and doctors who don’t have protective equipment. I said something when I was angry without thinking about the prime minister or his family.”

Councilor Kevin Buttery, Conservative group leader on Amber Valley Borough Council, said this is an “extremely worrying time” for Johnson, his family and friends, and the nation. 

“To say I find the comments of councilor Sheila Oakes distasteful and abhorrent is an understatement.

“As the local mayor, she should be acting in a non-political way as she represents the town, this is clearly not the case in these circumstances.”

This all comes as the UK reached a grim milestone on Wednesday as it recorded a massive jump in deaths, up 938 in one day. Total deaths in the country have reached 7,097, with 60,733 confirmed cases.