General British politics discussion thread

Strazdas

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118460665#Comment_118460665

His 'defence' is hugely predictable, the usual bluff and bluster, but I've a feeling he might survive this. One thing going in his favour is that Tory MPs are reluctant to replace him and are fearful that Truss, Sunak, Patel etc would cost the party votes.

pixelburp

With Johnson, nothing's certain and I'd hold fire from predicting that this time, he's toast. The man is, whatever else we could claim, a survivor. He has probably weathered scandals that might have sunk a dozen other politicians and Johnson's brand has enabled that penchant for bullet dodging.

Strazdas

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118461111#Comment_118461111

It's fascinating to watch all the same. There can not have been a worse PM in the last 200 years and someone so totally unfit for office and yet somehow he survives, lurching from crisis to crisis. He's a PM unlike any other.

10000maniacs

Basically I was getting a bit fed up of being told to bring my own booze to work meetings during the Covid lockdown.

Every day, the boss would say, bring your own six packs. The company is not paying for it.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118461206#Comment_118461206

In his apology he says “With hindsight I should have sent everyone back inside,”. If outside was just an extension of the office then inside is worse for Covid. Sounds to me like the only thing he is sorry for is doing it where a camera might see him.

He also signed off today by bugging up his governments "great" work done on tackling Covid. He really just doesn't care what he says.

I'm sure someone will be along before long to give this the "all sides" treatment or the it's Labours fault for being a bad opposition.

Strazdas

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118461429#Comment_118461429

The British elected a right wing populist in 2019, a mini Trump. We're seeing that these guys are useless at running a country. It's just chaos mixed with soundbites and jingoistic slogans.

Brussels Sprout

He's a dead man walking but he'll never resign. The question is how long will it serve the Tories to use him as their mud guard?

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118461521#Comment_118461521

It was pretty much a necessary evil to let some of these guys in charge to prove that theory.

Problem is unlike Trump you can't just boot out Brexit after 4 years

Larbre34

Sir Roger Gale (big dog Tory) just delivered the coup de gras on Sky News.

He says this is the third strike and Boris is out. He says Boris lied at the dispatch box and that's irrecoverable. He says he has written to the Tory Chairman and expects others to do so to quickly reach the 54 signatures of the Commons members to trigger an early leadership election. He says that while he would not wish ideally to have a leadership election during a pandemic, that cannot stop a necessary one.

Bye Boris. I'm sure you'll make a great stay-at-home Dad. Not.

Loafing Oaf

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118461028#Comment_118461028

I'd say the more clued-in ones can see the potential in Sunak...

Igotadose

Erm, what about the lad that ran against him in the last one? Hunt? Surely he's got to be a candidate.

Rjd2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118462054#Comment_118462054

Better chance of been cast as James Bond tbh.

He is popular enough with the MPS...but the base don't like him whatsoever as simply not hardline enough for them which is saying something.

Most people reckon Boris engineered it that he faced Hunt in the final two as he knew when it came to the members voting Hunt was much easier to beat than Gove, Javid etc.

He will run and do ok next time , but unless he faces May in the final two he won't be winning.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118462054#Comment_118462054

I'de say the tabloids would love the opportunity to have Prime (unt as a headline.

But being serious he has been a disaster with the general population going back to his health secretary days. There is a pretty deep dislike of him and not just with Labour diehards.

ArmaniJeanss

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118462054#Comment_118462054

I'm sure he'll stand but his 'second place' was fairly uninspiring. He got (a very distant) second place amongst the MPs to get onto the members ballot. He was even in 3rd place on the penultimate ballot. Rumours of voting shenanigans to get him ahead of Gove.

2019 Conservative Party leadership election - Wikipedia

I'd guess that many of his voters would have been amongst those removed from the party during the winter 2019 cull, so he'd struggle to get the same numbers again. Though he just might get votes amongst the new Northern Red Wall intake.

Sudden Valley

Boris will survive because he has a shedload of charisma compared to any of his likely successors. He won't resign since he will think he will weather this storm. I don't think he is as narcisisitic or would call for violence to be called a minis Trump, he is more like George W Bush, affably incompetent.

Capt'n Midnight

Probably won't be as interesting as it could be

Party Political Broadcast by the Conservative Party (5 minutes)

Today 18:55 BBC One except Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland HD, Scotland & Scotland HD

For those in NI UTV are showing one earlier at 18:25

In Scotland it's the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party on BBC One Scotland at 18:55

Itssoeasy

I know it’s been said before that “oh this will be the one that gets boris Johnson” and I don’t think this latest one on its own is the issue it’s that its not the first one, and given how the British public were ordered to go into lockdown, this latest gathering just builds on the “one rule for us, one rule for them” notion which just angers people even more and especially when many people lost loved ones and couldn’t have a proper funeral.

PommieBast

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118462247#Comment_118462247

I'm wondering whether Boris will survive on the basis that the Conservative party is going to get screwed regardless of whether he stays or goes.

Larbre34

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118463122#Comment_118463122

Not sure why that would necessarily be the case. They can change leader and still not have to face the electorate, in a General Election anyway, for almost 3 more years.

That's an age in politics to turn the ship around. In fact thats already such a big task to take on, they do need to start now with a new boss.

Brussels Sprout

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118462247#Comment_118462247

Surely we can all agree that Johnson has utterly maximised that charisma for all its worth. Given the absolute shambles that his stint in number 10 has been, perhaps in future, the British public will look for something beyond mere charisma in their leaders.

Strazdas

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118462247#Comment_118462247

I would disagree. George Jr is a strong family man and is generally considered respectable and honest by people who know him. Johnson has nine children by five different women and seems a reckless bounder and liar who never cares about consequences.

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118462140#Comment_118462140

He was also unpopular in Culture to a certain extent, but he's been a figure of hate for a decade now over the Health stuff.

Capt'n Midnight

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118462463#Comment_118462463

GB version - Boris talking about how great the NHS is, record vaccines and all the usual soundbites, levelling up , most growth in G7

Scotland - We are the only alternative to the SNP

Very different messages it'll be an interesting run to the May elections

A Dub in Glasgo

Why do people insist on call him Boris?

Anyway, the 'Scottish' Conservative party is the exact same party headed up by Johnson. It is more accurate to state the Conservative party in Scotland. They use this branding technique to try and pull the wool over the eyes of the electorate in Scotland and disassociate themselves with that lot that is led by Johnson

farmerval

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118461560#Comment_118461560

That's the whole point, along with a complete lack of an alternative. There's a mountain of excrement to come out around the whole PPE contracts and contracts for buddies stuff, along with further Brexit fall out. No way do the Tories want a new leader starting with all that on their in tray. They desperately need Boris to hang in there for another few months.

Strazdas

Interesting that Truss tweeted her fulsome support for Johnson today but Sunak went AWOL and legged it down to Devon.

For Forks Sake

Well, well, what do we have here.

https://twitter.com/BritainElects/status/1481392326241132563

PommieBast

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118465025#Comment_118465025

Good question to be honest. From memory there were other Johnsons in politics at the time, his father being one of them, so might have something to do with that.

Suppose calling him BJ was also too much innuendo..

dogbert27

JRM calling Douglas Ross a "lightweight" is hilarious. The conservatives are starting to eat themselves

Brussels Sprout

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118465409#Comment_118465409

Apart from the collapse in the Tory number the other interesting thing here is the Green Party vote slowly ticking upwards. 7% is an interesting figure as it's pretty much what the Lib Dems got in the 2019 general election and was good for 12 seats. Caroline Lucas has been the lone Green seat in parliament now since 2010 but they did quite well in local elections last year (especially in Bristol) and would be looking to the May local lections this year to gain even more councillors. First Past the Post has always been their biggest impediment to growing in the UK but it looks like they might finally be able to hit the numbers where they can start seeing some meaningful results. Ideally in the next general election they would enter into an election pact with Labour and the Lib Dems but I'm not optimistic of that.