Boris Johnson’s apartment renovation raises questions

As Prime Minister, Boris Johnson has a monthly salary of £ 13,114, which equates to just over 150,000 SEK. There are few who will find it difficult to get this salary. But Boris Johnson is not like everyone else. It became clear last week.

When the Conservative Party won the parliamentary elections in December 2019 and Britain left the European Union a month later, Boris Johnson and his partner Carrie Symonds realized that they would likely be allowed to stay in the prime minister’s residence for at least another five years.

They decided to renovate the interior and arrange new furniture at 11 Downing Street, whose living space is larger than the floor adjacent to the historic 10th number and thus has been used as the residence of the Prime Minister since the days of Tony Blair.

According to the magazine Tattlers Sources, Carrie Symonds was said to be unhappy with the decor Theresa May and her husband left behind. Now the Prime Minister and his wife have appointed a private interior designer.

And yes, it got very expensive.

The cost was at least £ 88,000 according to emails like daily Mail He got access to. According to the newspaper times There may also be another separate bill for just over 100,000 pounds.

The British Prime Minister receives an annual maintenance allowance of 30,000 pounds (about 350,000 crowns) to keep the house in good condition. But the renovation costs have so far exceeded this – no less than 58,000 pounds (675,000 crowns) and maybe much more.

So what did Boris Johnson do? According to British press reports, he has turned to his Conservative Party. There are suspicions that one of the major benefactors, Lord David Brownlow, was responsible for at least one of the bills.

Boris Johnson says He covered the cost entirely on his own. Sources on his team say to the British press that he resolved all potential debts of the party by taking out a regular bank loan.

In other words, the scandal known as “Money for Curtains” in the UK is quickly turning into Boris Johnson’s hot potato.

But – and this is where it gets delicate – even if he only gets a temporary loan or small grant from a private individual, it should be made public. So the UK Electoral Commission was established The investigation of the suspected crimes began Against current regulations.

Of course, the opposition in the Labor Party and the Scottish National Party is using this to attack Johnson ahead of Thursday’s local and regional elections. This weekend, the leader of the Conservative Party in Scotland, Douglas Ross, was also forced to say that he is the prime minister “It is clear that you must resign.” If it breaks the regulations.

In other words, the UK’s “cash for curtains” scandal is quickly turning into Boris Johnson’s hot potato.

Is it due to greed or simple negligence?

That Boris Johnson was forced Decrease in salary when I become prime minister No secret. Post-Brexit, Johnson was one of Britain’s highest-paid writers and spokespersons, and over the years he seemed to have gotten used to a rather extravagant lifestyle. He is said to have told his friends that he needs to earn 300,000 pounds a year (3.5 million crowns) to cover his expenses, according to him times.

The British Conservative press reports that both German and American leaders earn nearly twice as much as Boris Johnson. If the prime minister is lucky, the scandal could thus lead to an increase in wages. It remains to be seen how the electorate perceives it.