title: Partygate

text: On 24 May 2022, Sadiq Khan – whose responsibilities as Mayor of London include overseeing the Metropolitan Police – asked for a "detailed explanation" from them of how FPNs were decided in the course of the investigation. Khan said he feared a "lack of clarity" could erode "trust" in the police. Specifically, Khan wanted to know why Johnson was not issued with an FPN over Lee Cain's leaving party, after ITV News obtained photos of him raising a toast in Cain's honour. On 25 May, legal action was started against the Metropolitan Police by Brian Paddick, who maintained the police acted "irrationally". Lawyers for Paddick wrote in a letter they want to judicially review the "apparent failure of the Metropolitan police service to adequately investigate or investigate at all the prime minister Boris Johnson's participation in three unlawful gatherings held at 10 Downing Street". It is believed Johnson did not even receive a questionnaire over his presence at three leaving parties. The letter states, "We do not understand the decision to investigate some attendees but not the prime minister. ... The MPS can not reasonably have reached any conclusion as to reasonable excuse without first having investigated the prime minister's conduct by way of a questionnaire or interview." Johnson attended several events for which he was not issued with an FPN but other attendees were.


title: Partygate

text: On 26 May 2022, Stephen House, the acting commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, appeared before the London Assembly's Police and Crime Committee to answer questions related to the police's handling of its investigation and how it decided who should be issued with FPNs. He told the committee that he was confident with the findings of the investigation and that he had been personally involved in the decision-making, and is "not particularly concerned about what the prime minister thinks, I do my job without fear or favour". Asked why the prime minister had only received one FPN, House answered that there was no clear evidence of any other breaches by him. House was also asked why the police officer on duty in Downing Street had not challenged the "large number of people" that Gray’s report said he had seen, after responding to a panic alarm, in a "crowded and noisy" event where "some members of staff drank excessively". He replied that Downing Street officers were not there to "police what goes on inside the building", but for security purposes, and that he did not "believe that the officer that we're talking about felt that they were seeing something that necessarily breached coronavirus regulations". House also told the committee how the police had handled the investigation, describing how officers had examined the activity of each individual at each event, including how long the event was and how long the individual was at it, and referencing "hundreds of documents, including emails, electronic door logs, diary entries, witness statements, photographs, CCTV images, and we sent questionnaires to people who we felt may have breached legislation".


title: Partygate

text: On 25 July 2022, the Metropolitan Police admitted that Johnson had not received questionnaires in relation to some lockdown parties. The details were released due to legal action being taken by the Good Law Project.


title: Partygate

text: On 19 April 2022, Hoyle approved an application, from the Labour leader and other leading opposition MPs, to table a motion for debate followed by a vote on 21 April, on whether Johnson should be referred to the Parliamentary Privileges Committee to investigate whether he knowingly misled Parliament.


title: Partygate

text: On 19 April, the "i" news website said that a vote would reveal the loyalties of the so-far silent Tory MPs; this could then be used by opposition MPs to influence voters in the unrelated May local elections, even if, as expected by "i", they lost the vote. On 20 April, the Conservative leadership initially sought to have their MPs vote the motion down, but faced a potential rebellion among their backbench MPs. They instead tabled an amendment to delay the decision about referring Johnson to the Privileges Committee until after Gray's report was published. However, by the morning of 21 April, further Conservative MPs were threatening to rebel. The Government's position shifted further and they dropped the three-line whip for their amendment.


title: Partygate

text: The motion was tabled on 21 April 2022, with Tory MPs told not to oppose it. The Commons approved the motion without a vote. The motion called for the Privileges Committee to launch an inquiry, once the police had finished their own investigation into the gatherings.


title: Partygate

text: The Committee can recommend a range of possible sanctions, including a suspension from the Commons (although the Recall of MPs Act 2015 will not apply), and resignation for knowingly misleading Parliament. The full Commons would have to approve any sanctions in a vote.


title: Partygate

text: The Government hired Lord Pannick, who released an opinion critical of the Committee's functioning. The Privileges Committee responded, saying, "The Committee accepts the view of its impartial legal advisers and the Clerks that Lord Pannick's opinion is founded on a systemic misunderstanding of the parliamentary process and misplaced analogies with the criminal law."


title: Partygate

text: Since early December 2021, some British media have referred to the controversy over the events as "Partygate". The term is similar to that used for previous political scandals and controversies.


title: Partygate

text: Some commentators made comparisons between these possible social gatherings, and the lack of social contact when observing COVID restrictions when people were dying or at funerals. For example, at Prime Minister's Questions on 8 December 2021, Keir Starmer, the leader of the Opposition, raised the example of Trisha Greenhalgh being unable to visit her dying mother in December 2020. The Conservative backbench MP Tracey Crouch said, "My constituents have every right to be angry. Their memories of lost loved ones are traumatised knowing that they died alone, first and last Christmases passed by, and many spent what is usually a special day by themselves".


title: Partygate

text: On 7 December, the story became the subject of political satire by Ant & Dec on the ITV entertainment show "I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!" A clip of this on social media was viewed 5 million times.


title: Partygate

text: On 14 January 2022, YouTuber Jack Dean staged a demonstration in response to the controversy by hiring 100 people to dress up as Boris Johnson] and have an impromptu party outside Downing Street. The demonstration attracted media attention and went viral online.


title: Partygate

text: From December 2021 onwards, UK and international journalists suggested Johnson's political career was threatened by the controversy.


title: Partygate

text: There was debate as to whether public disquiet about the controversy might lead to the public being less willing to adhere to new restrictions brought in response to the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, which began spreading in the UK in December 2021. However, Steve Reicher argued in "The BMJ" that any effect was likely to be small and that it could lead some individuals to be more adherent.


title: Partygate

text: "The Week", the BBC and "The Daily Telegraph" all selected a photo of Allegra Stratton giving her resignation statement as a key image of 2021.


title: Partygate

text: The reported gathering on 16 April 2021, on the day before the funeral of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, was compared by opposition politicians and "The Guardian" to the social distancing rules that applied to the funeral attended by Queen Elizabeth II. Vernon Bogdanor said, "It shows that those in government feel entitled to break the rules which ordinary people have been observing". JD Wetherspoon founder Tim Martin accused Johnson of "hypocrisy", arguing that much of the controversy would have been avoided if Downing Street staff had been able to visit pubs, which at the time were closed due to lockdown restrictions. On the same day, the campaign group Led By Donkeys produced a spoof video of Johnson being questioned about the controversy by characters from the TV drama "Line of Duty". It was viewed 5 million times with a day of publication.


title: Partygate

text: Philip Mawer, former Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, and Alex Allan, Johnson's former independent advisor on ministerial standards, both said they felt Partygate and other scandals have eroded public confidence in the present system. Both maintained there needed to be an independent system for investigating ministers accused of problems. Currently the Prime Minister can decide not to hold an investigation and the public feel this can prevent desirable investigations being held.


title: Partygate

text: After FPNs were issued in March 2022, Starmer said that Johnson was either "trashing the ministerial code or he's claiming he was repeatedly lied to by his own advisers, that he didn't know what was going on in his own house and his own office". He said Johnson had to resign, a position also supported by the Liberal Democrats and SNP.


title: Partygate

text: On 20 April 2022, the COVID-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group described Johnson's apology as "the words of someone who is sorry they have been caught, not someone who regrets the harm they have done". Safiah Ngah, a spokesperson for the group said, "[Johnson's] claim that he didn't realise rules were being broken is just laughable and shows he still takes us for idiots."


title: Partygate

text: On 23 May 2022, Starmer said, "The culture is set at the top, the can should be carried by the prime minister. He has responsibility. I doubt he will, because he doesn't take responsibility for anything he's done in his life. But the culture in Downing Street is set from the top, as it is with any organisation, and that culture has led to industrial-scale law-breaking." The same day, pictures obtained by ITV News showed Johnson raising a glass of wine in front of a table with bottles on it at the leaving party for Lee Cain on 13 November 2020. Scotland Yard were urged to explain why Johnson had not been issued with an FPN for attending the gathering.


title: Partygate

text: On 12 January 2022, many senior figures of the Scottish Conservatives called for Johnson to resign, including leader Douglas Ross and former leaders Ruth Davidson and Jackson Carlaw. On 13 January 2022, 27 of the 31 Conservative Scottish MSPs came out publicly against Johnson after his appearance in Parliament the previous day. William Wragg, the Conservative Chair of the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Select Committee, called for Johnson's resignation. On 13 January, Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen stated that he had submitted a letter of no confidence in the prime minister, and Conservative MP for Romsey and Southampton North, Caroline Nokes, also called for him to resign. The Sutton Coldfield Conservative Association unanimously passed a motion calling for the prime minister to stand down. A poll of Conservative Party members in early January 2022 by YouGov found 38% felt that Johnson was doing a bad job as prime minister and 34% wanted him to resign, which were big increases than when YouGov had last polled Conservative members in the summer of 2020.


title: Partygate

text: On 15 January, former Conservative minister Tobias Ellwood told the BBC that Johnson had to "lead or step aside". Former children's minister and MP for East Worthing and Shoreham, Tim Loughton called for Johnson to resign.


title: Partygate

text: Johnson faced more pressure from rebel MPs as they arrived back at Westminster on 17 January, after dealing with negative responses from Conservative associations and constituents. Some reported they had received almost 1,000 emails from dissatisfied voters.


title: Partygate

text: "The Times" reported that, on the evening of 18 January, more than 20 Conservative MPs first elected in 2019 had met to discuss Johnson's leadership, with some preparing to submit letters of no confidence after Prime Minister's Questions on 19 January. The "Evening Standard" said that as many as 20 of the MPs were preparing to submit the letters. This was dubbed the 'Pork Pie Plot' (or 'Putsch') by a Johnson loyalist minister as one of the MPs who was said to be involved, Alicia Kearns, represents Rutland and Melton, the town of Melton Mowbray being famous for its pork pies. Kearns has denied being an organiser of the rebellion. By the end of 19 January, some Conservative MPs told the BBC that Wakeford's defection had caused a change in mood, namely that there was a "stepping back" from immediate attempts to obtain a no-confidence vote in Johnson's leadership and a wish to wait until after Sue Gray's report was published.


title: Partygate

text: On 19 January, Bury South MP Christian Wakeford said he had submitted a letter of no confidence. Later that day, shortly before Prime Minister's Questions, Wakeford defected from the Conservative Party to the Labour Party, although his first contact with Labour predated the controversy and he was initially motivated by other issues. It was later reported that up to seven MPs had withdrawn their letters of no confidence.


title: Partygate

text: At the end of Prime Minister's Questions on 19 January, Conservative former minister David Davis called for Johnson to resign, quoting Leo Amery calling on Neville Chamberlain to resign during the Norway Debate in 1940, and saying: "You have sat there too long for all the good you have done. In the name of God, go". BBC "Newsnight"'s political editor Nick Watt said Davis would have intended it to be "particularly devastating" to Johnson.


title: Partygate

text: On 26 January, Nicky Wylie, the leader of the Conservative group on Cheshire East Council, quit the party citing the controversy.


title: Partygate

text: On 20 January, Conservative MP William Wragg, chair of the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Select Committee, accused 10 Downing Street staff of threatening him and other colleagues over their opposition to Johnson's leadership. He said "the intimidation of a member of parliament is a serious matter" and "The reports of which I'm aware would seem to constitute blackmail". Wragg said damaging publicity had been threatened, as had removal of government investment in MPs' constituencies. Wragg advised MP's affected to contact the police or the Commons Speaker.


title: Partygate

text: Johnson said he had "seen no evidence [and] heard no evidence" of what Wragg said and that he would look into them. The Secretary of State for Culture Nadine Dorries, called Wragg's accusations "attention-seeking behaviour" and "nonsense". Energy minister, and former government whip, Greg Hands, said of what Wragg said that they "not been borne out by anybody else", and that "This is not something that happens".


title: Partygate

text: Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said, "It is simply remarkable that a prime minister could countenance scrapping local projects and funding if MPs refuse to back him. All Boris Johnson cares about is saving his own skin. He's acting more like a mafia boss than a prime minister". Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner called for an investigation.


title: Partygate

text: Chair of the Commons Select Committee on Standards, Chris Bryant, said roughly a dozen Conservative MPs had made similar allegations of whips threatening to withdraw funding for their constituencies in the past few days; threats included withholding funds for campaigning and infrastructure such as by-passes and schools. Bryant said, "I have even heard MPs alleging that the prime minister himself has been doing this. What I have said to all of those people is that that is misconduct in public office. The people who should be dealing with such allegations are the police. It is illegal. We are meant to operate as MPs without fear or favour. The allocation of taxpayer funding to constituencies should be according to need, not according to the need to keep the prime minister in his job".<ref name="guardian22/1/2022"></ref>


title: Partygate

text: After the release of Sue Gray's update on 31 January 2022, Conservative MP Andrew Mitchell said he no longer supported Johnson. Former prime minister Theresa May also questioned Johnson's response to Gray's report, saying that people "had a right to expect their prime minister to have read the rules, to understand the meaning of the rules" and to "set an example". She said No. 10, "was not observing the regulations they had imposed on members of the public" and accused Johnson of "either not understanding the rules or believing they did not apply to his team". In protest over Johnson's handling of the controversy, Guildford MP Angela Richardson resigned from her position as Michael Gove's parliamentary secretary.


title: Partygate

text: On 1–2 February, the Conservative MP for Waveney, Peter Aldous submitted a letter of no confidence. Three others: Bournemouth East MP and Chair of the Defence Select Committee Tobias Ellwood; Anthony Mangnall, MP for Totnes; and Gary Streeter, MP for South West Devon submitted letters of no confidence in him. By 3 February 2022, ITV News reported that 12 Conservative MPs, 21 MSPs (including Douglas Ross, who is both an MP and MSP) and two peers had called for Johnson's resignation, and BBC News reported that 17 MPs had submitted letters of no confidence. Roger Gale and Charles Walker both wanted Johnson to resign.


title: Partygate

text: On 4 February, Newcastle MP Aaron Bell said he had submitted a letter of no confidence. The same day, former Minister of State for School Standards Nick Gibb also submitted one. Alec Shelbrooke, the MP for Elmet and Rothwell, described Johnson's position as, "indefensible". On 6 February, Tory MPs Iain Duncan Smith and Kwasi Kwarteng both called for Johnson to be given more time.


title: Partygate

text: On 10 February, former Conservative prime minister John Major said Johnson, "broke lockdown laws" and added in his opinion the government felt it, "need not obey the rules. ... Brazen excuses were dreamed up. Day after day the public was asked to believe the unbelievable. Ministers were sent out to defend the indefensible – making themselves look gullible or foolish".


title: Partygate

text: Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, Ross withdrew his letter of no confidence, saying he felt a leadership contest would be inappropriate during the conflict, as did Bridgen.


title: Partygate

text: Solicitor General and MP for Cheltenham Alex Chalk would not defend Johnson after Johnson received an FPN, instead Chalk said senior politicians should, "act in a way that is beyond reproach". Former Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Karen Bradley and MP Penrith and The Border Neil Hudson among others criticised Johnson. Bradley said, "I do wish to make it clear that if I had been a minister found to have broken the laws that I passed, I would be tendering my resignation now." Hudson said he would not, "defend the indefensible" and it was, "extremely disappointing" that Johnson and Sunak, had been given an FPN. Hudson added, "The fact that the lawmakers went on to break those very laws they brought in to keep us all safe is deeply damaging for our democracy. That situation is untenable." Brdley and Hudson are both uneasy about changing prime minister during the Ukraine crisis. Caroline Nokes called on Johnson to resign for a second time.<ref name="Observer17/4/2022"></ref>


title: Partygate

text: On 13 April, Tory backbencher Nigel Mills, MP for Amber Valley, said that Johnson's position was "untenable". Separately, Justice Minister Lord David Wolfson resigned in protest.


title: Partygate

text: On 19 April, senior Tory MP Mark Harper said Johnson was now "no longer worthy" of remaining Prime Minister. On 21 April, Tory MP Steve Baker, the former chair of the European Research Group, publicly stated that "the gig is up" and that Johnson should be "long gone by now." On 23 April Toby Helm and Michael Savage of "The Guardian" suggested that increasing numbers of Conservative MPs believed Johnson needed to be replaced as prime minister soon and that many were waiting until after the result of the May 2022 local elections to decide whether to replace him. Barry Macleod-Cullinane, who was deputy leader in Harrow, London, said, "We now know that Boris Johnson broke the law and has lied repeatedly to parliament and to us. He's taking us for fools – and we can't let him get away with it."<ref name="independent4/5/2022">Boris Johnson hit by grassroots Tory revolt over Partygate as voters go to the polls "The Independent"</ref>


title: Partygate

text: Following the publication of the Sue Gray report, Julian Sturdy, John Baron, David Simmonds and Stephen Hammond called for Johnson to resign. On 27 May, Paul Holmes, MP for Eastleigh resigned from his position as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Home Secretary over concerns around "toxic culture" at the heart of government he said was described in the report. Discontent with Johnson among Conservative MPs was growing and many MPs feared losing their seats. In the days following the Sue Gray report, further MPs (Elliot Colburn, Bob Neill, Alicia Kearns, John Stevenson and Steve Brine) publicly declared that they had submitted letters of no confidence, whilst others such as Jeremy Wright called for Johnson’s resignation without declaring if they had submitted a letter. Andrew Bridgen also stated that he had resubmitted his letter after previously withdrawing it. On 31 May 2022 Andrea Leadsom wrote, "it is painfully clear to me that given the extent and severity of rule-breaking taking place over a 20-month period, it is extremely unlikely that senior leaders were unaware of what was going on".


title: Partygate

text: The "Insider" reported that, on condition of anonymity, "several" Conservative MPs had speculated that enough letters of no confidence to trigger a confidence vote had been submitted. Some speculated this would occur on 7 June. The "Financial Times" reported speculation that it could happen after the by-elections in Tiverton & Honiton and Wakefield on 23 June. On 4 June, "The Times" reported that one Tory rebel who had been keeping a "private tally" believes that up to 67 letters have been sent in. They also reported that officers of the 1922 Committee had pencilled in 8 June as the date for a vote of confidence, with another "backbench number cruncher" calculating up to 190 Tory MPs would vote against Johnson, enough to oust him.


title: Partygate

text: On 1 June 2022, two of Johnson's cabinet colleagues challenged the speculation that he would have to resign. The culture secretary, Nadine Dorries, said that the "overwhelming" majority of party MPs still backed him. Dorries said that Partygate was now only a Westminster bubble issue as the public was "ready to move on" and that "The people who most want to get rid of Boris Johnson are Keir Starmer and the SNP".


title: Partygate

text: On 6 June 2022, the threshold for the number of letters of no confidence, from Conservative MPs, was reached and a confidence vote in Boris Johnson's leadership was called. Johnson ruled out resigning in response. After the news was announced but before the vote, Conservative MP John Penrose resigned as the Prime Minister's anti-corruption champion, because of Partygate. Ahead of the vote, Johnson addressed Conservative MPs. "The Times" journalist Patrick Maguire reported that, when he was asked about the behaviour described in Gray's report, Johnson replied, "I'd do it again". Johnson won with 211 votes to 148, but many commentators saw his position weakened.


title: Partygate

text: The challenge to Johnson's leadership returned when, on 5 July, Rishi Sunak as Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sajid Javid as Health Secretary and other MPs resigned from the government. Further ministerial resignations followed on 6–7 July. Some of those resigning explicitly referenced Partygate in their decisions, including Javid the departing Solicitor General Alex Chalk and Pensions Minister Guy Opperman. Following 60 further resignations, Johnson resigned as Leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister.


title: Partygate

text: The controversy was seen as one factor in the Conservatives' loss of a by-election in North Shropshire, held on 16 December 2021.


title: Partygate

text: In the May 2022 local elections in England, Scotland and Wales, the Conservatives lost 481 seats (of the 6,173 total) compared to the previous elections. They won control of 35 councils, 11 fewer than previously. Doorstep campaigners cited Partygate and failures to address the increases in the cost of living as key issues.


title: Partygate

text: Opinion polling in early December 2021 found that the majority of the public believed that a party had taken place at Downing Street in December 2020 and that this was not permitted under the restrictions in place at the time. The controversy was seen as a factor in the Conservative Party and Boris Johnson's declining rates of public support in December 2021. Various polls throughout late 2021 and early 2022 suggested that a majority of voters wanted Johnson to resign as Prime Minister over the controversy. After Johnson apologised for the 20 May 2020 gathering, one poll indicated that 68% of the public considered his apology not to have been sincere.


title: Partygate

text: By 14 January 2022, YouGov polling found that 72% of the British public held an unfavourable view of Johnson, a record low for his tenure and surpassing the lowest popularity of Theresa May during her premiership. Following the reporting of further gatherings in January 2022, the Conservatives fell further in the polls, with Labour having a lead of around 10 points. Polling by Ipsos MORI in January 2022 found that "lack of faith in politicians and politics" was cited as a major problem facing the country by 25% of the public, the highest recorded since 2016 and "likely related" to the revelations of lockdown parties.


title: Partygate

text: The "i" described polling in reaction to Boris Johnson and others receiving FPNs as showing that these events "had some impact – but maybe not as much as the Prime Minister’s opponents might hope."


title: Partygate

text: In May 2022 it was revealed that Liz Truss was the bookmakers' favourite to replace Johnson as Tory Party leader, with odds of 5/1. Tom Tugendhat was next with odds of 7/1 and then Jeremy Hunt with odds of 8/1.


title: Partygate

text: According to a snap poll conducted by YouGov the day the Sue Gray report was published, 59% of Britons think that Johnson should resign. This is a 2% increase from 4 April, when his FPN was issued. A minority – three in ten – think Johnson should remain in office. Despite the report, Johnson continues to hold the support of Conservative voters: 63% want him to remain in office versus 27% who want him to resign. A majority of Labour voters (88%) want Johnson to step down. Three quarters of the public believe Johnson knowingly lied. Only 13% believe the Prime Minister did not lie. Even among the Tories, over half of voters think Johnson lied, with only 29% of Conservative voters believing him.


title: Partygate

text: On 4 June, a poll by JL Partners for the upcoming Wakefield by-election showed Labour had a 20 point lead over the Conservatives. The Conservatives had previously won this 'red wall' seat during the 2019 election for the first time since 1931. The poll also found swing voters were turning away from the Conservatives mainly due to distrust over Partygate and the Conservatives seeming out of touch. These findings were supported by further polling by Survation, which showed a Labour lead of 23 points.


title: Partygate

text: On 11 June, a poll by Opinium showed that Johnson was preferred over Starmer to be prime minister, with a two-point lead over him at 28% to 26%. It also showed that Labour's lead over the Conservatives had dropped to two points at 36% to 34%, with the Liberal Democrats at 13% and the Greens at 6%.


title: Partygate

text: Lord Geidt, the Government's independent adviser on ministers' interests, published his annual report on 31 May 2022. In a lengthy preface, he said, "a legitimate question has arisen as to whether those facts [the issuing of a FPN to Johnson] alone might have constituted a breach of the overarching duty within the ministerial code of complying with the law". He continued, "It may be that the Prime Minister considers that no such breach of his Ministerial Code has occurred. In that case, I believe a Prime Minister should respond accordingly, setting out his case in public."


title: Partygate

text: Geidt said, "I have repeatedly counselled the Prime Minister's official and political advisers that the Prime Minister should be ready to offer public comment on his obligations under the Ministerial Code, even if he has judged himself not to be in breach. This has been my standing advice, which I was assured had been conveyed to the Prime Minister. Its purpose has simply been to ensure that the Prime Minister should publicly be seen to take responsibility for his own conduct under his own Ministerial Code. That advice has not been heeded and, in relation to the allegations about unlawful gatherings in Downing Street, the Prime Minister has made not a single public reference to the Ministerial Code."


title: Partygate

text: "The Times" reported that Geidt had threatened to resign, on 31 May, unless Johnson publicly explained his position. Johnson published a letter, later that day, clearing himself and Sunak of breaching the code. He wrote he had "no intent to break the regulations" and that an FPN was not a criminal conviction, and blamed "a failure of communication" between his and Geidt's offices.


title: Partygate

text: On 14 June 2022, while giving evidence to MPs, Geidt said that he did not have the authority to investigate Johnson’s behaviour with respect to Covid regulations, and that he had not requested an investigation, and that instead, he had asked Johnson for a statement, which he gave and in which he cleared himself of any breach. He added, the "ordinary man or woman" may think it was "reasonable to say that perhaps a fixed-penalty notice and the prime minister paying for it may have constituted not meeting the overarching duty of the ministerial code of complying with the law". Geidt stated that he was not fully independent since he was answerable to the Prime Minister rather than to an independent authority. On 15 June 2022 Geidt resigned. On 16 June 2022, it was reported that Geidt's resignation was due to a request for advice on a trade issue that had left him with no choice but to quit.


title: Partygate

text: On 30 April 2021, before the Hartlepool by-election and local elections, the Durham office of MP Mary Foy hosted a Labour Party campaign team including Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner. Late that evening, a student took a short video through the office window. Next day, "The Sun" published pictures from it showing Starmer with a beer while others ate, and a Labour statement that the event had complied with the rules for work gatherings, with a pause for food.


title: Partygate

text: On 8 December 2021, Johnson countered Partygate allegations by alluding to Starmer "quaffing beer". In January 2022 Starmer called on Johnson to resign for being at "socially distanced drinks" and claiming he had believed it was a work event. "The Daily Telegraph" and the "Daily Mail" took up Conservative claims that the Durham event was the same, and called Starmer a hypocrite. Labour said it had followed the rules, with a meal necessary for work. Durham Constabulary reviewed the video, and on 7 February said no action was warranted.


title: Partygate

text: On 12 April 2022, after Johnson got a fixed penalty notice (FPN) for breaching the regulations, Starmer said he should resign. After media "beergate" stories and pressure from government ministers, Durham Constabulary resumed investigations on 6 May. Starmer and Rayner said they had not broken any rules, but would resign if given FPNs, to demonstrate different principles to Johnson. On 17 June, they returned completed questionnaires to Durham police.


title: Partygate

text: On Friday 8 July 2022, Starmer and Rayner and all other attendees were cleared by Durham Constabulary who concluded that the gathering was reasonably necessary for work purposes.


title: ArmaLite AR-18

text: The ArmaLite AR-18 is a gas-operated assault rifle chambered for 5.56×45mm NATO ammunition. The AR-18 was designed at ArmaLite in California by Arthur Miller, Eugene Stoner, George Sullivan, and Charles Dorchester in 1963 as an alternative to the Colt AR-15 design, a variant of which had just been selected by the U.S. military as the M16. A semi-automatic version known as the AR-180 was later produced for the civilian market. While the AR-18 was never adopted as the standard service rifle of any nation, its production license was sold to companies in Japan and the United Kingdom, and it is said to have influenced many later weapons such as the British SA80, the Singaporean SAR-80 and SR-88, the American Adaptive Combat Rifle, the Belgian FN F2000, the Japanese Howa Type 89 and the German Heckler and Koch G36.


title: ArmaLite AR-18

text: Soon after the adoption of the 7.62×51mm NATO M14 rifle in 1957, the U.S. Army's Continental Army Command (CONARC) began an investigation of small-caliber, high-velocity (SCHV) rifles as an offshoot of the military's existing research program, Project SALVO. ArmaLite and Winchester Arms were solicited by CONARC to provide prototype automatic rifles chambered for high-velocity centerfire .22 rounds. The ArmaLite AR-15 was a scaled-down version of the 7.62mm AR-10, which had appeared too late to be a serious contender against the M14 for adoption by the US Army. Its competitor was the Winchester .224 Light Rifle, a "Carbine" Williams prototype carbine design in a .22 high velocity round which was similar to, but not interchangeable with, the .223 Remington (5.56×45mm). During the protracted U.S. military trials of the AR-15, ArmaLite's corporate owners Fairchild essentially gave up on the design, and sold the AR-15 production rights to Colt. Fairchild also spun off ArmaLite as an independent company, allowing the new owners to buy all of the company's designs except for the AR-10 and AR-15. When the U.S. military ultimately selected the AR-15 as the M16, ArmaLite could no longer profit from its adoption.


title: ArmaLite AR-18

text: The ArmaLite AR-16 appeared in the later 1950s. The AR-16, a 7.62mm NATO selective-fire rifle, was Eugene Stoner's final design for ArmaLite. The AR-16 and its predecessor, the AR-12 were designed by Stoner in response to demands by the military forces of smaller, less developed nations for a less expensive, yet state-of-the-art selective-fire military rifle that unlike the AR-10 and AR-15, could be produced inexpensively of heavy-gauge sheet metal using automatic screw machines, lathes, and presses. The AR-12 originally featured a direct-impingement (DI) gas operation system, but this was changed to a more conventional short-stroke gas piston in the AR-16 after ArmaLite sold the production rights to the DI system to Colt Firearms. The AR-16 had a short, 15-inch barrel, hinged wooden butt, and weighed 8.75 pounds empty; only three examples were built. Eugene Stoner left ArmaLite in 1961, shortly before Fairchild divested itself of ownership.


title: ArmaLite AR-18

text: The U.S. military's later adoption of the AR-15 gave legitimacy to its 5.56mm cartridge, and ArmaLite sought to develop a competing design chambered in 5.56mm that did not infringe on the Colt license agreement. With Stoner gone, it was decided to scale down the AR-16, and ArmaLite's new chief designer, Arthur Miller, embarked on the project. The resulting 5.56mm design appeared in 1963 and was named the AR-18. Miller later received for the rifle in 1969.


title: ArmaLite AR-18

text: Overall, the new AR-18 rifle is much more conventional than previous ArmaLite designs, although it uses the relatively new stamped steel construction from its predecessor, the AR-16. Despite being pioneered by the Germans during WW2 in weapons such as the MP 44, and later adopted for the Soviet AKM, the use of stamped and welded sheet metal components was still uncommon in the manufacture of military rifles in the West in the early 1960s, which had, until then, largely retained the use of traditional machined forgings. Compared to the smooth lines of the AR-15, the AR-18 faced criticism over its stamped and welded construction, which had demonstrably greater tolerances in parts fit. However, the rifle proved to be both reliable and very accurate at all ranges up to . Its simple construction promised significantly reduced production costs, and allowed it to be license-produced locally on less advanced machinery, potentially reducing dependence on foreign manufacturers.


title: ArmaLite AR-18

text: The AR-18's action is powered by a short-stroke gas piston above the barrel. The gas piston is of three-piece design to facilitate disassembly, with a hollow forward section with four radial gas vent holes fitting around a stainless steel gas block projecting rearwards from the foresight housing. The gas is vented from the barrel and travelled via a vent through the foresight housing into the hollow front section of the piston, which causes it to move rearwards a short distance. The rear end of the piston emerges through the barrel extension to contact the forward face of the bolt carrier, causing it in turn to move rearwards. The bolt itself is of similar configuration to the AR-15 with seven radial locking lugs engaging corresponding recesses in the barrel extension, and the extractor in place of the eighth lug. The bolt is moved into and out of the locked position via a cam pin that engaged a helical slot in the bolt carrier, which rides on two metal guide rods (each with its own return spring) instead of contacting the receiver walls, providing additional clearance for foreign matter entering the receiver. Unlike the AR-15, the cocking handle fits directly into a recess in the bolt carrier and reciprocates with it during firing, allowing the firer to force the breech closed or open if necessary. The cocking handle slot has a spring-loaded cover that can be closed by the user to prevent debris entering the receiver, and it will open automatically as the bolt carrier moves rearwards after the first shot. The recoil springs are housed within the receiver, differing from the AR-15 which houses its more elaborate buffer mechanism in the buttstock. The AR-18's compact design enables the use of a side-folding stock with a hinging mechanism (which proved to be less than adequately rigid).


title: ArmaLite AR-18

text: The sights are of similar design and sight picture to those of the AR-15 - a 2-position flip aperture rear sight and post foresight - but the rear sight is made of stampings. A notable change is the use of a more conventional lower sight line closer to the axis of the bore, in contrast to the elevated sights of the AR-15. A dovetail is spot welded to the receiver in front of the rear sight for a proprietary ArmaLite quick-detachable scope mount.


title: ArmaLite AR-18

text: The magazines were of a brand new proprietary design and were different than those of the AR-15. The original magazines made by ArmaLite and Howa were of gray-anodized aluminum alloy with black-plastic followers and came in 5- and 20-round capacities. (The 5-round magazine, like that of the Colt AR-15 Sporter, was just a full-size 20-round magazine blocked to only hold 5 rounds.) They lacked the magazine-catch cutouts of the AR-15 magazines, making them incompatible. Sterling later produced black-enameled steel magazines in 20- 30- and 40-round capacities that did have cutouts and were able to feed from an AR-15. However, the AR-18/AR-180 was never capable of using the Colt AR-15/M16's stock 20- or 30-round STANAG magazines. Gunsmiths have been able to convert AR-15/M16 magazines to feed in the AR-18, but they have to have modified followers or it will put strain on the bolt catch.


title: ArmaLite AR-18

text: The AR-18 was also designed to use the same standard accessories as the M16. It used a three-pronged flash-hider that was similar to that used on the early M16. This was usually replaced by an aftermarket enclosed M16A1 "birdcage"-type model. It could mount the standard M-7 bayonet, although it was not available for sale through ArmaLite. "Sporterized" late-production Howa-made AR-180 rifles had extended metal tabs through the mounting lugs to prevent this. A plastic copy of the fixed folding metal bipod issued with the early M-16 was available and came in a similar protective case. AR-180 users were leery of buying a non-adjustable bipod made of thermoset plastic so few were sold, making it a rare accessory today. A padded rifle case that could carry the rifle with the scope mounted was available. It could hold two spare 20-round magazines and the bipod or bayonet in pouches.


title: ArmaLite AR-18

text: Overall, the design is simple and effective with some clever touches; for example the bolt guide rod assembly guides the bolt in the receiver, retains the recoil springs and the rear end of the top handguard, as well as serving as the latch holding the upper and lower receivers together in the closed position. Disassembly is somewhat similar to the AR-15, with the working parts accessed by the rifle pivoting open on a hinge pin immediately forward of the magazine well.


title: ArmaLite AR-18

text: The AR-18 was put into limited production at ArmaLite's machine shop and offices in Costa Mesa, California. A semi-automatic version of the AR-18 known as the AR-180 was later produced for the civilian market between 1969 and 1972. ArmaLite was never equipped to build small arms on a production basis, and the Costa Mesa AR-18 and AR-180 rifles frequently show evidence of hand-fitting. A production license was granted to Nederlandsche Wapen-en Munitiefabriek (NWM) of Den Bosch, the Netherlands, but it is doubtful that any AR-18 rifles were actually produced there. A license to produce the AR-18/180 was then sold to Howa Machinery Co., of Japan, and the rifle was produced from 1970 until 1974, when new controls on export of military arms by the Japanese government forced the company to cease all small arms production. Between 1975 and 1978, there was a brief pause in production as ArmaLite was finalizing an agreement with Sterling Armaments Company to produce the rifle under license. From 1979 until 1985, the Sterling Armaments Company of Dagenham, Essex, in the United Kingdom produced the AR-18 and AR-180. In 1983, ArmaLite was sold to Elisco Tool & Manufacturing of the Philippines, which planned to pitch the AR-18 as a replacement for the license-produced M16A1 then in service with the Armed Forces of the Philippines. As a result, production stopped in 1985 as the tooling was sent to the Philippines. Under Elisco several modifications to the design were implemented and twenty (20) prototypes of four designated types (AR 101, AR 102, AR 103, AR 104) were built and underwent testing and evaluation. About 3,500 of these rifles, collectively designated the "AR Series 100" were approved for production. Production plans for the AR Series 100 would fail to push through as Elisco would be dissolved and its assets liquidated in the late 1980s. In mid-1968 ArmaLite set up pilot production in its Costa Mesa plant producing 1,171 AR-18s and 4,018 AR-180s between 1969 and 1972. Howa produced 3,927 AR-180s between 1970 and 1974. Sterling manufactured 12,362 AR-180s between 1979 and 1985. In all, just 21,478 AR-180s were manufactured over 16 years of production between 1969 and 1985.


title: ArmaLite AR-18

text: Unlike the AR-15/M16, the AR-18 did not see substantial sales success, and was never officially adopted by any country as its standard service rifle. The reasons for this are unclear, but may have had something to do with the existing sales popularity of the AR-15/M16, as well as the need for additional field testing and evaluation of the Costa Mesa-produced rifles, which were still in the advanced prototype stage. The AR-18 was purchased for evaluation trials by various armed forces, including the United States (1964) and the United Kingdom (1966). These suffered various malfunctions during evaluation trials by various nations. During the US trials at Aberdeen Proving Ground in 1964, the AR-18's functioning was found to vary from lot to lot of ammunition. The evaluating board concluded that while the basic design of the AR-18 was sound, it required additional minor revisions and changes to improve safety and reliability before it could be considered for adoption as a service rifle. The British Ministry of Defence (MOD) tested the AR-18 in March 1966, and found the design unsatisfactory in performance during mud and sand trials. ArmaLite made several minor production modifications to the design commencing in 1965, and the U.S. Army was directed to re-evaluate the AR-18 at the end of 1969. Testing was conducted at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, conducted by arsenal employees and the Infantry Board at Fort Benning, Georgia. However, American procurement officials were not interested in acquiring yet another 5.56 mm service rifle. A number of deficiencies were listed and the testing authority stated that, although the AR-18 had military potential, it needed further development. In 1968, dissatisfied with efforts to market the AR-18, Arthur Miller left ArmaLite.


title: ArmaLite AR-18

text: Instead, the AR-180 was sold on the civilian market, while the AR-18 sold in small quantities to police and law enforcement organizations, as well as armies and security forces of nations such as Botswana, Haiti, Malaysia and Swaziland. Still others found their way into the hands of paramilitary groups, such as the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) in Northern Ireland, (see also Provisional IRA arms importation). The ArmaLite rifle was for many years the most lethal weapon available to the IRA. For this reason, it became an iconic symbol within that movement. The Republican ballad "Little Armalite" tells of how the AR-18 changed the fortunes of the organization in its conflict with Britain. The Armalite company reportedly bought 1000 copies of a recording for its salesmen to distribute. The 1980s Republican political strategy of parallel political and paramilitary campaigns was also christened the "Armalite and ballot box strategy".


title: ArmaLite AR-18

text: The standard AR-18 versions manufactured by ArmaLite, Howa and Sterling Armaments Company differ only in minor details. ArmaLite and Howa rifles have a satin grey phosphate finish, while Sterling rifles sported two finishes; Serial numbers S15001 through S20000 had a black, glossy enamel painted finish. Starting with serial number S20001, a blued finish was used for the remainder of production. Rifles were normally equipped with a sling, cleaning kit (bore/brush), and a knife-type bayonet with scabbard. An optional bipod with a case was available.


title: ArmaLite AR-18

text: The AR-180 is capable of semi-automatic fire only and was externally identical in appearance to the AR-18 with one exception; the selector has only two positions, omitting the third "AUTO" position found on the AR-18. There are minor differences between the variants; to select "FIRE" on the Howa rifles the selector lever must be pivoted 180 degrees from "SAFE" so it is pointing forward towards the muzzle (where "AUTO" would be on a selective-fire rifle), while on the Sterling rifles, the "SEMI" position is the same as the "SEMI" position on a selective-fire rifle; 90 degrees from "SAFE" with the selector lever pointing down. Towards the end of AR-180 production at ArmaLite's Costa Mesa shop in 1972, some unused AR-18 lowers were used to assemble AR-180s. The "SEMI" and "AUTO" positions were scrubbed and the "AUTO" position was relabeled "FIRE". The selector lever on these particular rifles would have to be pivoted 180 degrees from "SAFE" to "FIRE" the same way as Howa manufactured rifles.


title: ArmaLite AR-18

text: Sterling made an AR-180 sporter variant called the "Sharpshooter". It was identical to the regular AR-180 except it came with black neoprene covers for the forend and buttstock. The forend cover gave the shooter a positive gripping surface and the buttstock cover contained a cheekpiece pad to help gain a full cheekweld when shooting.


title: ArmaLite AR-18

text: Sterling manufactured a small number of sporter variants called the AR-180 SCS, of which only 385 were reputed to have been made. It has a large single-piece wooden thumbhole stock that replaces the butt, pistol grip and handguard of conventional versions. The metal parts differ in the lack of the ejection port cover, a PH prefix to the serial number and adapted safety and magazine release controls.


title: ArmaLite AR-18

text: Sterling also manufactured small numbers of a short version, the AR-18S. This version uses the same basic mechanism and folding butt, but has a barrel and a length of with the butt extended. The shortened barrel is fitted with a cone-shaped flash suppressor to address the additional muzzle flash resulting from the short barrel. Some examples have an additional pistol grip fitted to the underside of the handguard.


title: ArmaLite AR-18

text: Sterling had also planned to market a pistol version of the AR-18S to complement the standard AR-180, known as the AR-180SP. A single prototype AR-180SP was completed and submitted to the ATF in 1982 to determine if it was suitable for importation, but it is not known if it was ever approved for import or if any more examples were imported beyond the lone prototype sent to ATF.


title: ArmaLite AR-18

text: A 2.75× 20 mm telescopic sight was available but few were sold. Early-production models are marked in meters rather than yards and have a different reticle. It is marked "ArmaLite", and has a quick-detachable, see-through mount that attaches to an integral dovetail spot-welded to the top of the receiver. The mount could also feasibly be used with other scopes if they had a 1-inch diameter tube.


title: ArmaLite AR-18

text: A delayed blowback upper was also developed by Ross Rudd using a hesitation lock but not manufactured due to financial backing reasons.


title: ArmaLite AR-18

text: The ArmaLite brand was purchased in 1996 by Eagle Arms, a U.S. small arms manufacturer, which adopted the ArmaLite brand for its company. An updated model of the AR-180 was introduced in 2001 as the AR-180B, with a molded polymer lower receiver replacing the stamped steel original. The new lower receiver is combined with the buttstock, which is fixed on the AR-180B, instead of the side-folding butt on the original AR-18 and AR-180. Other AR-180B changes include the use of standard AR-15 trigger group and rear sight parts, a straight cocking handle replacing the earlier cranked style and the deletion of the original AR-18/180 spring-loaded dust cover for the cocking handle slot. The AR-15 magazine release is also used, in contrast to the original AR-18 which had a different magazine release and corresponding slot in the body of the magazine, meaning AR-15 magazines needed a new slot cut to fit properly in the AR-18. As a result, the AR-180B uses standard AR-15/M16 magazines. An AR-180B version with a Picatinny rail was planned for production. In 2007 the AR-180B was discontinued due to poor sales.


title: ArmaLite AR-18

text: There are aftermarket parts to improve the AR-180B. NoDak Spud made a replacement black-anodized aluminum-alloy lower-receiver. StormWerkz made a series of stock adapters compatible with this model of lower receiver to allow the use of fixed or folding AR-180B or AR-15 stocks. StormWerkz also made an adapter that allowed the use of a Picatinny rail that comes in four variants and installs over the dovetail on the top of the receiver.


title: ArmaLite AR-18

text: The Canadian company Wolverine Supplies teamed up with Canadian gunmaker Kodiak Defence to commission the creation of a new AR-180 variant, the WK180-C. The WK180-C does away with the stamped steel and polymer construction of the AR-18, AR-180, and AR-180B, instead, it uses 6061-T6 aluminium to form the upper and lower receivers. This rifle ships with an adaptor to mount AR-15 style stocks (and comes with a collapsible AR15 stock). As Length of pull (LOP) is long with many AR15 stocks, some users have retrofit Cz Vz58 folding stocks to these rifles. While this option works well, it requires the use of lower iron sights and optics.


title: ArmaLite AR-18

text: In 2019 Brownells, Inc. released BRN-180 complete upper assembly, a new take on the AR-180 design built around the AR-18 short-stroke piston system. The BRN-180 is designed to be fitted to mil-spec AR-15 lower receivers and unlike standard AR-15s the BRN-180 can be fired with the stock folded. The BRN-180 comes with an adjustable gas block and a free-floating modular handguard and is available in barrel lengths.


title: ArmaLite AR-18

text: When the AR-18 was designed, a plethora of different methods of gas and recoil operation existed in self-loading intermediate caliber rifles. Since then, self-loading intermediate caliber rifles have converged toward three methods of gas operation. These are: AR-15 style direct Impingement, the AK-style long stroke gas piston and the short-stroke gas system found in the AR-18 rifle. While the AK and AR-15 are the first and second most produced intermediate caliber rifles of all time, the AR-18 gas system is the ancestor for the majority of short stroke gas systems found in selective fire military rifles. The AR-18 mechanism is the basis for many rifles in major military service. Rifles which use a copy or derivative of the AR-18 gas system include: German HK G36, HK416, FN F2000, FN-SCAR, Steyr AUG, CZ 805 BREN, Chinese QBZ-95, Daewoo K1, HOWA Type 89, SAR-88, T-91 and British SA80 family of weapon systems.


title: ArmaLite AR-18

text: In some cases, designs borrow more than just the AR-18's gas system. Successive rifle designs borrow other components such as the bolt carrier group or upper receiver. The HOWA Type 89 is an AR-18, modernized to fit the needs of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. The Singapore SAR-88 and Taiwanese T-91 utilize a complete AR-18 upper receiver. Early British SA80 prototypes featured ArmaLite produced AR-18 upper receivers mated to a prototype stamped metal bullpup lower receiver. The finalized SA80 weapon systems use the AR-18 gas system and bolt carrier group. The Remington Adaptive Combat Rifle derives its bolt carrier group from the AR-18.


title: Roy Sullivan

text: Roy Cleveland Sullivan (February 7, 1912 – September 28, 1983) was an American park ranger in Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. Between 1942 and 1977, Sullivan was claimed to have been hit by lightning on seven occasions, surviving all of them. For this reason, he gained the nicknames "Human Lightning Conductor" and "Human Lightning Rod". Sullivan is recognized by Guinness World Records as the person struck by lightning more recorded times than any other human being.


title: Roy Sullivan

text: Roy was born in Greene County, Virginia, on February 7, 1912. He started working as a ranger in Shenandoah National Park in 1936. Sullivan was described as a brawny man with a broad, rugged face, who resembled the actor Gene Hackman. He was told to have been avoided by people during the later years of his life, owing to fears of being struck by lightning, and that this saddened him. He once recalled "For instance, I was walking with the Chief Ranger one day when lightning struck way off (in the distance). The Chief said, "I'll see you later".


title: Roy Sullivan

text: On the morning of September 28, 1983, Sullivan died at the age of 71 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. Two of his ranger hats are on display at two Guinness World Exhibit Halls in New York City and South Carolina.


title: Roy Sullivan

text: All seven strikes were documented by the superintendent of Shenandoah National Park, R. Taylor Hoskins. Hoskins, however, was never present at any of the reported strikes and was not an active and present superintendent in Shenandoah National Park for many of the times Sullivan was supposedly struck. Sullivan himself recalled that the first time he was struck by lightning was not in 1942 but much earlier. When he was a child, he was helping his father to cut wheat in a field, when a thunderbolt struck the blade of his scythe without injuring him. But because he could not prove the fact later, he never claimed it.


title: Roy Sullivan

text: Sullivan's wife was also struck once, when a storm suddenly arrived as she was out hanging clothes in their back yard. Her husband was helping her at the time, but escaped unharmed.


title: Roy Sullivan

text: The odds of being struck by lightning for over the period of 80 years have been roughly estimated as 1:10000. If the lightning strikes were independent events, the probability of being hit seven times would be (1:10000) = 1:10 or 1 in 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000. These numbers do not quite apply to Sullivan, however, who by the nature of his work and his physical location was exposed to more storms than the average person. Virginia, where he lived, averages 35 to 45 thunderstorm days per year, most of which fall in June, July, and August. Between 1959 and 2000, lightning killed 58 people and injured at least 238 people in Virginia. In the United States, 3,239 people were killed and 13,057 injured by lightning in the same period. Most of those were males between 20 and 40 years old caught outdoors.


The 2018 Karnataka Legislative Assembly election was held on 12 May 2018 in 222 constituencies to the Karnataka Legislative Assembly. The election was postponed in Jayanagar and Rajarajeshwari Nagar, following the death of the MLA B. N. Vijaya Kumar and a voter fraud scandal respectively till 28 May. The election saw a voter turnout of 72.13 per cent, the highest in Karnataka since 1952 assembly polls. The counting of votes took place on 15 May 2018.


title: 2018 Karnataka Legislative Assembly election

text: The Indian National Congress (INC) was seeking re-election, having governed the state since elections in 2013. while the Bharatiya Janta Party attempted to regain office, having previously governed the state in 2007 and from 2008 to 2013. The Janata Dal (Secular), and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) contested the election in an electoral alliance. The Aam Aadmi Party also made its debut in the state.


text: "The Times of India" reported in late February 2018 that the state had fewer electronic voting machines than the minimum mandated requirement to be stored going into elections for any state assembly. The report stated that only 20 percent or 11,399 EVMs were in place against the requirement of 56,994 machines, one each for a polling station. Bharat Electronics Limited, which provides 80 percent of the machines began supplying during this time. The District Election Officer for the Bangalore region stated that a "vulnerability mapping exercise" would be conducted to ensure "free and fair polls". He added that 550 Sector teams, each headed by a sector magistrate, a police officer (not below the rank of an Assistant sub-inspector) and a videographer, were formed, one for every 15 of the 8,274 polling stations in the said region.


text: Voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) machines were used with EVMs in all polling stations in Karnataka.


text: The schedule of the election was announced by the Election Commission of India on 27 March 2018. It announced that polling would be held in a single phase on 12 May and that results would be declared on 15 May. It also declared that the provisions of the Model Code of Conduct "came into force with immediate effect" with the said announcement.


text: The Election Commission of India ran into a major embarrassment on 27 March 2018, when BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya and the Karnataka Congress' social media in-charge, Srivasta, tweeted the dates before they were officially released. However, both of them got the counting day incorrect in their tweets. Both the tweets were deleted after outrage on Twitter. Malviya later claimed that he got the information from Times Now, a 24-hour English news channel. The news was reportedly also shown by a local Kannada news channel. Later it was revealed that even Times Now got the counting day incorrectly as 18 May 2018, instead of 15 May 2018.


text: Om Prakash Rawat, the Chief Election Commissioner of India, formed a committee to investigate the alleged leak. The terms of reference of the formed committee included probing certain media outlets and Congress' social media head Srivasta, but not BJP's Amit Malviya. This prompted allegations of the Election Commission of India being biased for the BJP by the Congress.


text: On 11 May 2018, Congress MLA Munirathna and 13 others were booked in an alleged fake voter ID scam. On 8 May 2018, almost 10,000 voter ID cards, along with several laptops, were found in a flat in Bengaluru owned by former BJP leader Manjula Nanjamari. Apart from the voter IDs and laptops, the Munirathna's pamphlets were also found, which turned the needle of suspicion on Munirathna. After the FIR, Munirathna said "I’ve distributed 40,000 pamphlets asking for votes for me in my constituency and you will find them in every home in my segment. I’ve been named as accused no. 14 because one such pamphlet was found in the flat that was raided. This is an outrageous complaint against me and part of the concerted propaganda to harass and humiliate me."


text: The polling in RR Nagar was postponed to 28 May 2018 and the counting of votes was done on 31 May 2018.


text: The Karnataka Legislative Assembly election sparked criticisms from Tamil Nadu over the Karnataka's government for not addressing the issue on properly and for its delay in setting up a Kaveri Management Board. The Supreme Court also issued a strict notice to the Karnataka state government for using the Karnataka Legislative state election as an excuse to resolve the Kaveri river water crisis with Tamil Nadu cannot be acceptable. The election was one of the hottest points considered by the critics for the future of Karnataka in dealing with the rivals, Tamil Nadu over the Kaveri River water dispute.


text: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) officially began its election campaign on 2 November 2017. The party spent 85 days covering all the assembly constituencies, culminating in Bangalore on 4 February 2018, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing it. In early March, the party launched a 14-day Protect Bengaluru March travelling across Bangalore aimed at, according to the party, "reviving" and "rebuilding" the city from Indian National Congress' "criminal neglect".


text: In December 2017, the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee, although not part of the election campaign, undertook a task of setting up booth-level committees at 54,261 locations in the state which will be responsible to disseminate information on various programs of the ruling Indian National Congress and their implementation. The move was seen as an "extensive outreach program" preceding the elections.


text: Some opinion pollsters asked voters the party leader they would prefer as Chief Minister – Siddaramaiah (Indian National Congress), B. S. Yeddyurappa (Bharatiya Janata Party). or H. D. Kumaraswamy (Janata Dal (Secular)). Lokniti-CSDS conducted surveys between 10 and 15 January interviewing 878 people. While 34 percent of the sample wanted Siddaramaiah to remain the chief minister for the next term, 19 percent chose Kumaraswamy and 14 percent chose Yeddyurappa. A poll conducted by CHS in the same month found that Kumaraswamy was the first choice, followed by Yeddyurappa and Siddaramaiah in that order. C-Fore's survey of a sample size of 22,357 voters across 154 assembly constituencies between 1 and 25 March showed that Siddaramaiah, with 45 percent, was the most popular choice for Chief Minister, followed by Yeddyurappa at 26 percent and Kumaraswamy at 13 percent, while 16 percent preferred 'others'.


text: The exit polls remained divided, with only one predicting that a party – BJP – would get past the majority mark. Five polls predicted that BJP would have the most seats, while two predicted that the Congress was in a comfortable lead, and one predicted a cliffhanger. Today's Chanakya exit poll, which was released last and took into account voting right until polling closure time, predicted a clear majority for BJP.


text: The election led to a hung assembly, with the BJP emerging as the single largest party, with 104 seats and the Congress winning the popular vote. BJP under the leadership of Yeddyurappa formed the government, based on being the single largest party of the house, despite the Congress and JD(S) post-result alliance having a majority. The Governor then gave a 15-day window for the new government to prove the majority in the legislature, which was shunned by the opposition as favoring the BJP. The Supreme court then limited the window to 3 days and then Chief minister Yeddyurappa resigned 10 minutes before the trust vote. The INC JD(S) coalition then formed the cabinet with HD Kumarasamy as Chief minister. This coalition government lasted for 14 months before turmoil started again. 16 Legislators from the ruling coalition resigned within a span of 2 days and 2 independent MLAs switched their support to BJP. This shrunk the house majority to 105 and ruling coalition to 101, and the opposition BJP to 107. After 3 weeks of turmoil, HD Kumarasamy lost the trust vote by 100–107 in the house (held on 23 July 2019) and resigned. Afterward on 26 July 2019, B.S. Yeddiyurapa took oath as the Chief Minister of Karnataka once again.


text: Bypolls were due to be held in three seats: Jayanagar and Rajarajeshwari Nagar in Bangalore and in Ramanagaram.


text: Rajarajeshwari Nagar election results were declared on 31 May 2018, and INC candidate Munirathna won by a margin of 28,000 votes taking the Congress' tally to 79 seats and the JD(S)-INC coalition to 118 seats.


text: Jayanagar Assembly Election result was declared on 13 June 2018. Sowmya Reddy, daughter of former minister Ramalinga Reddy, won the constituency by defeating BJP's BN Prahlad by 2889 votes. 55% polling was recorded in the Jayanagar Assembly constituency on 11 June. The assembly elections were held across the state on 12 May, but the poll in Jayanagar was countermanded following the death of BJP candidate B N Vijayakumar, who was holding the seat. The JDS had earlier pulled out its candidate, formally supporting its coalition partner Congress. This win took the Congress' tally to 79 in the 224 seats assembly and the INC-JD(S) coalition to 118 seats.


text: The results of Jamkhandi and Ramanagaram were declared on 5 November 2018. In Jamkhandi INC (JD(S)-Congress coalition) candidate Ananda nyamagouda(son of Ex MLA: Siddu nyamagouda) won by a margin of 39479 votes taking Congress tally to 80 seats.


text: In Ramanagaram, (JD(S)-Congress coalition) candidate Anitha Kumaraswamy (wife of Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy ) won by a margin of 109137 votes. And the Congress-JD(S) coalition 120 seats.


text: After the Demise of Kundagol MLA C.S. Shivalli and Resignation of Chincholi MLA Umesh Jadhav for Karnataka Assembly, The Bypolls of Karnataka Assembly held on 19 May along with Parliamentary election. Out of 2 seats, Kundagol seat was won by Kusuma Shivalli (Wife of Late C.S. Shivalli) from Indian National Congress and Avinash Jadhav from BJP won Chincholi Legislative Assembly seat (Son of BJP MP Umesh Jadhav)


title: The Communards

text: The Communards were a British synth-pop duo formed in London in 1985. The duo consisted of Jimmy Somerville and Richard Coles. They are most famous for their cover versions of "Don't Leave Me This Way", originally by Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes featuring Teddy Pendergrass and the Jackson 5's "Never Can Say Goodbye" - though the best known version was by Gloria Gaynor.


title: The Communards

text: The Communards formed in 1985 after singer Jimmy Somerville left his earlier band Bronski Beat to team up with classically trained musician Richard Coles. Somerville often used a falsetto singing style. Coles, though mainly a pianist, played a number of instruments and had been seen previously performing the clarinet solos on the Bronski Beat hit "It Ain't Necessarily So". They were joined by bass player Dave Renwick who had also played with Bronski Beat.


title: The Communards

text: The band had their first UK top 30 hit in 1985 with the piano-based number 30 single "You Are My World". The following year, they had their biggest hit with an energetic hi-NRG cover version of Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes' soul classic "Don't Leave Me This Way" (in a version inspired by Thelma Houston's cover) which spent four weeks at number one and became the UK's biggest selling single of 1986. It also made the US top 40. It featured Sarah Jane Morris as co-vocalist, taking advantage of the contrast between Morris' deep and rounded contralto and Somerville's soaring falsetto.


title: The Communards

text: On one Top Of The Pops show, Morris and Somerville changed roles (the song was being mimed) so that Somerville appeared to sing the deep notes and Morris the high ones.


title: The Communards

text: Morris performed both backing and co-lead vocals on many of the Communards' other recordings, and appeared in group photos as an unofficial third member.


title: The Communards

text: Later that year, the Communards had another UK top 10 hit with the single "So Cold the Night", which reached number 8. In 1987, they released an album titled "Red", which was partly produced by Stephen Hague. "Red" featured a cover version of the Jackson 5 hit "Never Can Say Goodbye" (in a version inspired by Gloria Gaynor's cover), which the Communards took to number 4 on the UK chart. Their last released single was "There's More to Love (Than Boy Meets Girl)" in 1988, which reached number 20 and was their final top 20 hit. "Red" is also noteworthy for "Victims" and "For a Friend" (also released as a single), which address people living with, and having died from, HIV/AIDS.


title: Our Town

text: Our Town is a 1938 metatheatrical three-act play by American playwright Thornton Wilder which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The play tells the story of the fictional American small town of Grover's Corners between 1901 and 1913 through the everyday lives of its citizens.


title: Our Town

text: Throughout, Wilder uses metatheatrical devices, setting the play in the actual theatre where it is being performed. The main character is the stage manager of the theatre who directly addresses the audience, brings in guest lecturers, fields questions from the audience, and fills in playing some of the roles. The play is performed without a set on a mostly bare stage. With a few exceptions, the actors mime actions without the use of props.


title: Our Town

text: "Our Town" was first performed at McCarter Theatre in Princeton, New Jersey, in 1938. It later went on to success on Broadway and won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Described by Edward Albee as "the greatest American play ever written", the play remains popular today and revivals are frequent.


title: Our Town

text: The Stage Manager introduces the audience to the small town of Grover's Corners, New Hampshire, and the people living there as a morning begins in the year 1901. Joe Crowell delivers the paper to Doc Gibbs, Howie Newsome delivers the milk, and the Webb and Gibbs households send their children (Emily and Wally Webb, George and Rebecca Gibbs) off to school on this beautifully simple morning. Professor Willard speaks to the audience about the history of the town. Editor Webb speaks to the audience about the town's socioeconomic status, political and religious demographics, and the accessibility and proliferation, or lack thereof, of culture and art in Grover's Corners. The Stage Manager leads us through a series of pivotal moments throughout the afternoon and evening, revealing the characters' relationships and challenges.


title: Our Town

text: It is at this time when we are introduced to Simon Stimson, an organist and choir director at the Congregational Church. We learn from Mrs. Louella Soames that Simon Stimson is an alcoholic when she, Mrs. Gibbs, and Mrs. Webb stop on the corner after choir practice and "gossip like a bunch of old hens," according to Doc Gibbs, discussing Simon's alcoholism. It seems to be a well known fact amongst everyone in town that Simon Stimson has a problem with alcohol; all the characters speak to his issue as if they are aware of it and his having "seen a peck of trouble," a phrase repeated by more than one character throughout the show. While the majority of townsfolk choose to "look the other way," including the town policeman, Constable Warren, it is Mrs. Gibbs who takes Simon's struggles with addiction to heart, and has a conversation with her husband, Doc Gibbs, about Simon's drinking.


title: Our Town

text: Underneath a glowing full moon, Act I ends with siblings George and Rebecca, and Emily gazing out of their respective bedroom windows, enjoying the smell of heliotrope in the "wonderful (or terrible) moonlight," with the self-discovery of Emily and George liking each other, and the realization that they are both straining to grow up in their own way.


title: Our Town

text: The audience is dismissed to the first intermission by the Stage Manager who quips, "That's the end of Act I, folks. You can go and smoke, now. Those that smoke."


title: Our Town

text: Three years have passed, and George and Emily prepare to wed. The day is filled with stress. Howie Newsome is delivering milk in the pouring rain while Si Crowell, younger brother of Joe, laments how George's baseball talents will be squandered. George pays an awkward visit to his soon-to-be in-laws. Here, the Stage Manager interrupts the scene and takes the audience back a year, to the end of Emily and George's junior year. Emily confronts George about his pride, and over an ice cream soda, they discuss the future and confess their love for each other. George decides not to go to college, as he had planned, but to work and eventually take over his uncle's farm. In the present, George and Emily say that they are not ready to marry—George to his mother, Emily to her father—but they both calm down and happily go through with the wedding.


title: Our Town

text: Nine years have passed. The Stage Manager, in a lengthy monologue, discusses eternity, focusing attention on the cemetery outside of town and the people who have died since the wedding, including Mrs. Gibbs (pneumonia, while traveling), Wally Webb (burst appendix, while camping), Mrs. Soames, and Simon Stimson (suicide by hanging). Town undertaker Joe Stoddard is introduced, as is a young man named Sam Craig who has returned to Grover's Corners for his cousin's funeral. That cousin is Emily, who died giving birth to her and George's second child. Once the funeral ends, Emily emerges to join the dead. Mrs. Gibbs urges her to forget her life, warning her that being able to see but not interact with her family, all the while knowing what will happen in the future, will cause her too much pain. Ignoring the warnings of Simon, Mrs. Soames, and Mrs. Gibbs, Emily returns to Earth to relive one day, her 12th birthday. She joyfully watches her parents and some of the people of her childhood for the first time in years, but her joy quickly turns to pain as she realizes how little people appreciate the simple joys of life. The memory proves too painful for her and she realizes that every moment of life should be treasured. When she asks the Stage Manager if anyone truly understands the value of life while they live it, he responds, "No. The saints and poets, maybe – they do some." Emily returns to her grave next to Mrs. Gibbs and watches impassively as George kneels weeping over her. The Stage Manager concludes the play and wishes the audience a good night.


title: Our Town

text: Wilder began making notes for the play while he was teaching and lecturing in Chicago in the 1930s. A constant traveler, he wrote it everywhere he went. In June 1937, he stayed in the MacDowell Colony in Peterborough, New Hampshire, one of the many locations where he worked on the play. It is believed Wilder drafted the entire third act during a visit to Zürich in September 1937, in one day, after a long evening walk in the rain with a friend, author Samuel Morris Steward.


title: Our Town

text: The play is set in the actual theatre where the play is being performed, but the date is always May 7, 1901. The Stage Manager of the May 7, 1901, production introduces the play-within-the-play which is set in the fictional community of Grover's Corners, New Hampshire. The Stage Manager gives the coordinates of Grover's Corners as 42°40′ north latitude and 70°37′ west longitude (those coordinates are actually in Massachusetts, about a thousand feet off the coast of Rockport), and at the beginning of Act III he mentions several real New Hampshire landmarks in the vicinity: Mt. Monadnock and the towns of Jaffrey, Jaffrey Center, Peterborough, and Dublin.


title: Our Town

text: Wilder was dissatisfied with the theatre of his time: "I felt that something had gone wrong. . .I began to feel that the theatre was not only inadequate, it was evasive." His response was to use a metatheatrical style. "Our Town"'s narrator, the Stage Manager, is completely aware of his relationship with the audience, leaving him free to break the fourth wall and address them directly.


title: Our Town

text: According to the script, the play is to be performed with little scenery, no set and minimal props. Wilder's reasoning was, ". . .I tried to restore significance to the small details of life by removing the scenery. The spectator through lending his imagination to the action restages it inside his own head. In its healthiest ages the theatre has always exhibited the least scenery."


title: Our Town

text: The characters mime the objects with which they interact. Their surroundings are created only with chairs, tables, staircases, and ladders. For example, the scene in which Emily helps George with his evening homework, conversing through upstairs windows, is performed with the two actors standing atop separate ladders to represent their neighboring houses. Wilder once said: "Our claim, our hope, our despair are in the mind—not in things, not in 'scenery.' "


title: Our Town

text: Wilder called "Our Town" his favorite out of all his works, but complained that it was rarely done right, insisting that it "should be performed without sentimentality or ponderousness—simply, dryly, and sincerely."


title: Our Town

text: The New York City debut of "Our Town" was on February 4, 1938, at Henry Miller's Theatre and later moved to the Morosco Theatre, where it ran until November 19, 1938; this production was produced and directed by Jed Harris. Wilder received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1938 for the work. The Jed Harris production of "Our Town" was revived at New York City Center on January 10, 1944, running for 24 performances until January 29, with Montgomery Clift as George and Martha Scott as Emily.


title: Our Town

text: In 1946, the Soviet Union prevented a production of "Our Town" in the Russian sector of occupied Berlin "on the grounds that the drama is too depressing and could inspire a German suicide wave".


title: Our Town

text: Henry Fonda played the Stage Manager in a production that ran on Broadway from Nov 27 to Dec 27, 1969. Elizabeth Hartman played Emily and Harvey Evans played George. Margaret Hamilton and Ed Begley were in the cast.


title: Our Town

text: A production at New York City's Lincoln Center opened on December 4, 1988, after 27 previews and ran for 136 performances until April 2, 1989; the cast included Spalding Gray as "Stage Manager", Frances Conroy as "Mrs. Gibbs", Penelope Ann Miller as "Emily" and Eric Stoltz as "George". The production was videotaped for broadcast on PBS (see "Adaptations" below).


title: Our Town

text: In 2003, Paul Newman, marking his final stage performance, acted in the role of "Stage Manager" with Jayne Atkinson as "Mrs. Gibbs" and Jane Curtin as "Mrs. Webb" in a production staged at New York City's Booth Theatre. It opened on December 4, 2002, after three previews and ran until January 26, 2003. The production was videotaped for broadcast on Showtime and later on PBS (see "Adaptations" below).


title: Our Town

text: An award-winning revival of "Our Town" opened at the Barrow Street Theatre, in New York City, on February 26, 2009. The production was directed by David Cromer, who also performed the role of Stage Manager for much of the show's run. Upon closing, the production had played four preview and 644 regular performances, making it the longest-running production of the play in its history. In addition to Cromer, other notable actors who performed in the role of Stage Manager included Helen Hunt, Michael McKean, Jason Butler Harner, Stephen Kunken and Michael Shannon.


title: Our Town

text: In 2017, Tony Award-winning Deaf West Theater, a Los Angeles-based theater company, co-produced with the Pasadena Playhouse a production of "Our Town" performed in American Sign Language and spoken English.


title: Gingivitis

text: Gingivitis is a non-destructive disease that causes inflammation of the gums. The most common form of gingivitis, and the most common form of periodontal disease overall, is in response to bacterial biofilms (also called plaque) that is attached to tooth surfaces, termed "plaque-induced gingivitis". Most forms of gingivitis are plaque-induced.


title: Gingivitis

text: While some cases of gingivitis never progress to periodontitis, periodontitis is always preceded by gingivitis.


title: Gingivitis

text: Gingivitis is reversible with good oral hygiene; however, without treatment, gingivitis can progress to periodontitis, in which the inflammation of the gums results in tissue destruction and bone resorption around the teeth. Periodontitis can ultimately lead to tooth loss.


title: Gingivitis

text: The symptoms of gingivitis are somewhat non-specific and manifest in the gum tissue as the classic signs of inflammation:


title: Gingivitis

text: Additionally, the stippling that normally exists in the gum tissue of some individuals will often disappear and the gums may appear shiny when the gum tissue becomes swollen and stretched over the inflamed underlying connective tissue. The accumulation may also emit an unpleasant odor. When the gingiva are swollen, the epithelial lining of the gingival crevice becomes ulcerated and the gums will bleed more easily with even gentle brushing, and especially when flossing.


title: Gingivitis

text: A new study from 2018 found evidence that gingivitis bacteria may be linked to Alzheimer's disease. Scientists agree that more research is needed to prove a cause and effect link. "Studies have also found that the bacteria "P. gingivalis" – which are responsible for many forms of gum disease – can migrate from the mouth to the brain in mice. And on entry to the brain, "P. gingivalis" can reproduce all of the characteristic features of Alzheimer’s disease."


title: Gingivitis

text: The cause of plaque-induced gingivitis is bacterial plaque, which acts to initiate the body's host response. This, in turn, can lead to destruction of the gingival tissues, which may progress to destruction of the periodontal attachment apparatus. The plaque accumulates in the small gaps between teeth, in the gingival grooves and in areas known as "plaque traps": locations that serve to accumulate and maintain plaque. Examples of plaque traps include bulky and overhanging restorative margins, clasps of removable partial dentures and calculus (tartar) that forms on teeth. Although these accumulations may be tiny, the bacteria in them produce chemicals, such as degradative enzymes, and toxins, such as lipopolysaccharide (LPS, otherwise known as endotoxin) or lipoteichoic acid (LTA), that promote an inflammatory response in the gum tissue. This inflammation can cause an enlargement of the gingiva and subsequent formation. Early plaque in health consists of a relatively simple bacterial community dominated by Gram-positive cocci and rods. As plaque matures and gingivitis develops, the communities become increasingly complex with higher proportions of Gram-negative rods, fusiforms, filaments, spirilla and spirochetes. Later experimental gingivitis studies, using culture, provided more information regarding the specific bacterial species present in plaque. Taxa associated with gingivitis included "Fusobacterium nucleatum" subspecies "polymorphum", "Lachnospiraceae" [G-2] species HOT100, "Lautropia" species HOTA94, and "Prevotella oulorum" (a species of "Prevotella" bacterium), whilst "Rothia dentocariosa" was associated with periodontal health. Further study of these taxa is warranted and may lead to new therapeutic approaches to prevent periodontal disease including systemic health.


title: Gingivitis

text: Gingivitis is a category of periodontal disease in which there is no loss of bone but inflammation and bleeding are present.


title: Gingivitis

text: Each tooth is divided into four gingival units (mesial, distal, buccal, and lingual) and given a score from 0–3 based on the gingival index. The four scores are then averaged to give each tooth a single score.


title: Gingivitis

text: The diagnosis of the periodontal disease gingivitis is done by a dentist. The diagnosis is based on clinical assessment data acquired during a comprehensive periodontal exam. Either a registered dental hygienist or a dentist may perform the comprehensive periodontal exam but the data interpretation and diagnosis are done by the dentist. The comprehensive periodontal exam consists of a visual exam, a series of radiographs, probing of the gingiva, determining the extent of current or past damage to the periodontium and a comprehensive review of the medical and dental histories.


title: Gingivitis

text: Current research shows that activity levels of the following enzymes in saliva samples are associated with periodontal destruction: aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and acid phosphatase (ACP). Therefore, these enzyme biomarkers may be used to aid in the diagnosis and treatment of gingivitis and periodontitis.


title: Gingivitis

text: A dental hygienist or dentist will check for the symptoms of gingivitis, and may also examine the amount of plaque in the oral cavity. A dental hygienist or dentist will also look for signs of periodontitis using X-rays or periodontal probing as well as other methods.


title: Gingivitis

text: If gingivitis is not responsive to treatment, referral to a periodontist (a specialist in diseases of the gingiva and bone around teeth and dental implants) for further treatment may be necessary.


title: Gingivitis

text: As defined by the 1999 World Workshop in Clinical Periodontics, there are two primary categories of gingival diseases, each with numerous subgroups:


title: Gingivitis

text: As defined by the 2017 World Workshop, periodontal health, gingival diseases/ conditions have been categorised into the following:


title: Gingivitis

text: Gingivitis can be prevented through regular oral hygiene that includes daily brushing and flossing. Hydrogen peroxide, saline, alcohol or chlorhexidine mouth washes may also be employed. In a 2004 clinical study, the beneficial effect of hydrogen peroxide on gingivitis has been highlighted. The use of oscillation type brushes might reduce the risk of gingivitis compared to manual brushing.


title: Gingivitis

text: Rigorous plaque control programs along with periodontal scaling and curettage also have proved to be helpful, although according to the American Dental Association, periodontal scaling and root planing are considered as a treatment for periodontal disease, not as a preventive treatment for periodontal disease. In a 1997 review of effectiveness data, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found clear evidence showing that toothpaste containing triclosan was effective in preventing gingivitis. In 2017 the FDA banned triclosan in many consumer products but allowed it to remain in toothpaste because of its effectiveness against gingivitis. In 2019, Colgate, under pressure from health advocates, removed triclosan from the last toothpaste on the market containing it, Colgate Total.


title: Gingivitis

text: The focus of treatment is to remove plaque. Therapy is aimed at the reduction of oral bacteria and may take the form of regular periodic visits to a dental professional together with adequate oral hygiene home care. Thus, several of the methods used in the prevention of gingivitis can also be used for the treatment of manifest gingivitis, such as scaling, root planing, curettage, mouth washes containing chlorhexidine or hydrogen peroxide, and flossing. Interdental brushes also help remove any causative agents.


title: Gingivitis

text: The active ingredients that "reduce plaque and demonstrate effective reduction of gingival inflammation over a period of time" are triclosan, chlorhexidine digluconate, and a combination of thymol, menthol, eucalyptol, and methyl salicylate. These ingredients are found in toothpaste and mouthwash. Hydrogen peroxide was long considered a suitable over-the-counter agent to treat gingivitis. There has been evidence to show the positive effect on controlling gingivitis in short-term use. A study indicates the fluoridated hydrogen peroxide-based mouth rinse can remove teeth stain and reduce gingivitis.


title: Gingivitis

text: Based on a limited evidence, mouthwashes with essential oils may also be useful, as they contain ingredients with anti-inflammatory properties, such as thymol, menthol and eucalyptol.


title: Gingivitis

text: The bacteria that causes gingivitis can be controlled by using an oral irrigator daily with a mouthwash containing an antibiotic. Either amoxicillin, cephalexin, or minocycline in 500 grams of a non-alcoholic fluoride mouthwash is an effective mixture.


title: Gingivitis

text: Overall, intensive oral hygiene care has been shown to improve gingival health in individuals with well-controlled type 2 diabetes. Periodontal destruction is also slowed due to the extensive oral care. Intensive oral hygiene care (oral health education plus supra-gingival scaling) without any periodontal therapy improves gingival health, and may prevent progression of gingivitis in well-controlled diabetes.


title: Louis VII of France

text: Louis VII (1120 – 18 September 1180), called the Younger, or the Young (), was King of the Franks from 1137 to 1180. He was the son and successor of King Louis VI (hence the epithet "the Young") and married Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine, one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in western Europe. The marriage temporarily extended the Capetian lands to the Pyrenees.


title: Louis VII of France

text: During his march, as part of the Second Crusade in 1147, Louis stayed at the court of King Géza II of Hungary on the way to Jerusalem. During his stay in the Holy Land disagreements with his wife led to a deterioration in their marriage. She persuaded him to stay in Antioch but Louis instead wanted to fulfil his vows of pilgrimage to Jerusalem. He was later involved in the failed siege of Damascus and eventually returned to France in 1149.


title: Louis VII of France

text: Louis' reign saw the founding of the University of Paris. He and his counsellor Abbot Suger, pushed for greater centralisation of the state and favoured the development of French Gothic architecture, notably the construction of Notre-Dame de Paris.


title: Louis VII of France

text: Louis' marriage was annulled in 1152 after no male heir was produced. Immediately after their annulment, Eleanor married Henry Plantagenet, Duke of Normandy and Count of Anjou, to whom she conveyed Aquitaine, which following Henry's ascension to the throne created an Angevin Empire. He later supported Henry's rebellious sons to further disunity in the Angevin realms. Louis later re-married to Constance of Castile, but still failed to have a male heir. His third marriage to Adela of Champagne, finally gave him a son, Philip. Louis died in 1180 and was succeeded by his son Philip II.


title: Louis VII of France

text: Louis was born in 1120, the second son of Louis VI of France and Adelaide of Maurienne. The early education of the young Louis anticipated an ecclesiastical career. As a result, he became well learned and exceptionally devout, but his life course changed decisively after the accidental death of his older brother Philip in 1131, when he unexpectedly became the heir to the throne of France. In October 1131, his father had him anointed and crowned by Pope Innocent II in Reims Cathedral. He spent much of his youth in Saint-Denis, where he built a friendship with the abbot Suger, an advisor to his father who also served Louis during his early years as king.


title: Louis VII of France

text: Following the death of Duke William X of Aquitaine, Louis VI moved quickly to have his son married to Eleanor of Aquitaine, who had inherited William's territory, on 25 July 1137. In this way, Louis VI sought to add the large, sprawling territory of the duchy of Aquitaine to his family's holdings in France. On 1 August 1137, shortly after the marriage, Louis VI died, and Louis VII became king. The pairing of the monkish Louis and the high-spirited Eleanor was doomed to failure; she reportedly once declared that she had thought to marry a king, only to find she had married a monk. There was a marked difference between the frosty, reserved culture of the northern court in the Íle de France, where Louis had been raised, and the rich, free-wheeling court life of the Aquitaine with which Eleanor was familiar. Louis and Eleanor had two daughters, Marie and Alix.


title: Louis VII of France

text: In the first part of his reign, Louis VII was vigorous and zealous in the exercise of his prerogatives. His accession was marked by no disturbances other than uprisings by the burgesses of Orléans and Poitiers, who wished to organise communes. He soon came into violent conflict with Pope Innocent II, however, when the archbishopric of Bourges became vacant. The king supported the chancellor Cadurc as a candidate to fill the vacancy against the pope's nominee Pierre de la Chatre, swearing upon relics that so long as he lived, Pierre should never enter Bourges. The pope thus imposed an interdict upon the king.


title: Louis VII of France

text: Louis VII then became involved in a war with Theobald II of Champagne by permitting Raoul I of Vermandois, the seneschal of France, to repudiate his wife, Theobald II's sister, and to marry Petronilla of Aquitaine, sister of the queen of France. As a result, Champagne decided to side with the pope in the dispute over Bourges. The war lasted two years (1142–44) and ended with the occupation of Champagne by the royal army. Louis VII was personally involved in the assault and burning of the town of Vitry-en-Perthois. At least 1,500 people who had sought refuge in the church died in the flames. Condemned by the ecclesiastical authorities, Louis removed his armies from Champagne and returned them to Theobald. He accepted Pierre de la Chatre as archbishop of Bourges and shunned Raoul and Petronilla. Desiring to atone for his sins, he declared his intention of mounting a crusade on Christmas Day 1145 at Bourges. Bernard of Clairvaux assured its popularity by his preaching at Vezelay on Easter 1146.


title: Louis VII of France

text: In the meantime, Geoffrey V, Count of Anjou, completed his conquest of Normandy in 1144. In exchange for being recognised as Duke of Normandy by Louis, Geoffrey surrendered half of the county of Vexin—a region vital to Norman security—to Louis. Considered a clever move by Louis at the time, it would later prove yet another step towards Angevin rule.


title: Louis VII of France

text: In June 1147, in fulfillment of his vow to mount the Second Crusade, Louis VII and his queen set out from the Basilica of Saint-Denis, first stopping in Metz on the overland route to Syria. Soon they arrived in the Kingdom of Hungary, where they were welcomed by the king Géza II of Hungary, who was already waiting with King Conrad III of Germany. Due to his good relationships with Louis VII, Géza II asked the French king to be his son Stephen's baptism godfather. Relations between the kingdoms of France and Hungary remained cordial long after this time: decades later, Louis's daughter Margaret was taken as wife by Géza's son Béla III of Hungary. After receiving provisions from Géza, the armies continued the march to the East. Just beyond Laodicea at Honaz, the French army was ambushed by Turks. In the resulting battle of Mount Cadmus, the Turks first bombarded the French with arrows and heavy stones, then swarmed down from the mountains and massacred them. The historian Odo of Deuil gives this account:


title: Louis VII of France

text: During the fighting the King Louis lost his small and famous royal guard, but he remained in good heart and nimbly and courageously scaled the side of the mountain by gripping the tree roots [...] The enemy climbed after him, hoping to capture him, and the enemy in the distance continued to fire arrows at him. But God willed that his cuirass should protect him from the arrows, and to prevent himself from being captured he defended the crag with his bloody sword, cutting off many heads and hands.


title: Louis VII of France

text: Louis VII and his army finally reached the Holy Land in 1148. His queen Eleanor supported her uncle, Raymond of Poitiers, and prevailed upon Louis to help Antioch against Aleppo. But Louis VII's interest lay in Jerusalem, and so he slipped out of Antioch in secret. He united with King Conrad III of Germany and King Baldwin III of Jerusalem to lay siege to Damascus; this ended in disaster and the project was abandoned. Louis VII decided to leave the Holy Land, despite the protests of Eleanor, who still wanted to help her doomed uncle Raymond. Louis VII and the French army returned home in 1149.