Boris - A one trick pony with no more tricks?

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 The Lemming 01 Jan 2021

Boris became King of all he saw, by backing Brexit and throwing anybody under the bus who got in his way in pursuit of getting Brexit over the line.

Well, Brexit is now history. Its done!

But what about Boris and the coming year?

Does he really have the cojones to run this country?

4
 Andy Hardy 01 Jan 2021
In reply to The Lemming:

Cojones are not a pre-requisite for running a country. Johnson however is not made of the right stuff. When he's run out of people to blame for his shortcomings, the men in grey suits will defenestrate him, in time for the next G.E.

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 Blunderbuss 01 Jan 2021
In reply to The Lemming:

He never had the cojones to be Foreign Secretary never mind PM......and absolutely no ability to lead the country through its biggest crisis in 75 years.

The sooner he goes the better.....I can't believe I would ever utter the words that I wish Gove was PM.

15
 wintertree 01 Jan 2021
In reply to Blunderbuss:

> Gove

Steady on there.

Post edited at 13:30
 Rob Exile Ward 01 Jan 2021
In reply to The Lemming:

He's f*cked up the country and our future as much as any individual has ever done. I for one would like to see him stick around and face the music, face interviews like the recent one by Laura Kuennsberg - I thought he was going to burst into tears at one point. I'll enjoy watching him attend foreign jollies and find himself relegated to 2nd tier. I'll enjoy watching him being humiliated when he tries negotiating abroad, and finds that for obvious reasons no one trusts him. I'll enjoy watching him campaigning against Scottish independence and discovering his so-called charm and charisma is not worth so much spit, watching every time he opens his mouth another 10,000 Scots becoming more convinced than ever that independence is the way to go. I want to watch when Arlene Foster finally realises that she is now an Irish politician rather than a British one.  

9
In reply to The Lemming:

Boris - A no trick pony with no more tricks?

FTFY

 Andy Clarke 01 Jan 2021
In reply to Blunderbuss:

> I can't believe I would ever utter the words that I wish Gove was PM.

Having watched in some horror his arrogant and destructive performance at Education, I'd say be careful what you ask the genie for.

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 Blunderbuss 01 Jan 2021
In reply to wintertree:

> Steady on there.

Boris is that bad in my eyes......it's like saying Stalin was better than Hitler. 

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 Blunderbuss 01 Jan 2021
In reply to Andy Clarke:

> Having watched in some horror his arrogant and destructive performance at Education, I'd say be careful what you ask the genie for.

TBH, I'd rather have my window cleaner as PM than Boris....

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 RobAJones 01 Jan 2021
In reply to Andy Clarke:

> Having watched in some horror his arrogant and destructive performance at Education, I'd say be careful what you ask the genie for.

Completely agree, and I'd worry about Cummings whispering in his ear again. 

In reply to The Lemming:

Hmm

Leads Tories to 80 seat victory, says ‘get Brexit done’ and does it, pulls out an agreement with the EU where the clever money was on ‘no deal’, turns into a Marxist handing out furlough, first vaccine roll out.

I’m not a Brexiteer or a Boris fan, and find the Tories repugnant. However, the Tories are certainly in power with a workable majority, and based on that spin, Boris could cruise it as PM until at least 2030. I guess he won’t have the backbone for it, but Sunak will.

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 Kalna_kaza 01 Jan 2021
In reply to Rob Exile Ward:

> I for one would like to see him stick around and face the music,

He'll be thinking of the next group or thing to blame. The other night he was on the news and was questioned whether it was feasible to vaccinate two million people a week, he replied "I don't want to get into numbers" - I'm not surprised, he can't even count how many kids he has.

>  I'll enjoy watching him being humiliated when he tries negotiating abroad, and finds that for obvious reasons no one trusts him.

His blustering and random VERBOSE emphasis... followed by... pauses and TREMENDOUS congratulations is most annoying.

He doesn't seem to be very good at reading the room in terms of changing his tone. The style that some UK voters like just doesn't suit international diplomacy.

> I want to watch when Arlene Foster finally realises that she is now an Irish politician rather than a British one.  

The DUP leadership is clearly thick as mince. All short term thinking without the slightest sign that they comprehend the increased likelihood of a united Ireland due to their impossible stance of hard Brexit and an open Irish border. 

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 Anotherclimber 01 Jan 2021
In reply to Blunderbuss:

Gove for PM.....you're joking, right? Hilarious but not funny.

 Blunderbuss 01 Jan 2021
In reply to Anotherclimber:

> Gove for PM.....you're joking, right? Hilarious but not funny.

The point of my comment was to highlight just how awful Boris is, in that the terrible Gove would be an improvement IMO...this appears to have be missed by some people  

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 dovebiker 01 Jan 2021

The Trump, his lack of work ethic, failure to demonstrate a modicum of leadership and abject fear of responsibility will be his undoing. What we need right now is a technocrat - someone confident with detail. The other problem is we have a cabinet of sycophants, not recruited for their leadership or abilities to deliver. There's no point of having all the apparatus of Government to hand when the whole thing lacks direction and the permanent secretaries have little faith in their political masters.

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J1234 01 Jan 2021
In reply to Andy Hardy:

> Cojones are not a pre-requisite for running a country. 

Spot on, just the ability to get elected, have a likeable personality. Next time Starmer is taking a flight, if he nips in the book shop he could buy one of those self help improvement books, then he could have shot.

Where does Labour get them from,

Millibean
Corbine
and now Starmer.

awhile ago I heard John Prescott on Desert Island Discs and I thought I am going to hate him, but I really warmed to him, I got why he is as he is, so when Starmer was on, I was rather interested. What an anodyne boring chap.

Like it or like it not, to get elected in the UK you need a bit of Charisma (not sure where Major fits in).

I think Boris is a dolt, but my wife who has zero interest in politics, always smiles when he is on telly and says she likes him because he makes her laugh. I suppose we should be grateful we have not ended up with Ken Dodd as PM.

Post edited at 17:27
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In reply to J1234:

> I think Boris is a dolt, but my wife who has zero interest in politics, always smiles when he is on telly and says she likes him because he makes her laugh

Isn't that the very definition of 'populism'...?

I want someone sensible in charge. Not a comedian.

 Anotherclimber 01 Jan 2021
In reply to Blunderbuss:

Only if someone was naive enough to opine that Gove would be an improvement on Johnson. ☺

J1234 01 Jan 2021
In reply to Anotherclimber:

I think Gove is as unelectable as Milliband and Corbyn, he just looks and sounds like the school creep.

 Fat Bumbly2 01 Jan 2021
In reply to Blunderbuss:

As long as it’s that way round. I would not trust Johnson with my windows 

 Blunderbuss 01 Jan 2021
In reply to Anotherclimber:

> Only if someone was naive enough to opine that Gove would be an improvement on Johnson. ☺

I am 100% sure he would be...

 DerwentDiluted 01 Jan 2021
In reply to The Lemming:

To call Boris a one trick pony is a considerable insult to untalented diminutive ungulates worldwide. At least they have the Findus 100% beef mince market to fall back on in hard times, making them far more palatable than Boris.

Post edited at 18:38
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J1234 01 Jan 2021
In reply to captain paranoia:

> Isn't that the very definition of 'populism'...?

>

Well, no, this is a definition of Populism,

a political approach that strives to appeal to ordinary people who feel that their concerns are disregarded by established elite groups.

 Morty 01 Jan 2021
In reply to The Lemming:

More donkey than pony - he's taken so many people for a ride, led by the nose by his owners. 

3
 gimmergimmer 01 Jan 2021
In reply to The Lemming:

He'll write a best selling book of it all, when he's finished wrecking the country. And I hate to say it but it'll do a lot better than Cameron's borefest.

 Anotherclimber 01 Jan 2021
In reply to Blunderbuss:

Don't be daft. That's impossible.

 andyman666999 01 Jan 2021
In reply to captain paranoia:

I'd probably settle for just competent right now. 

OP The Lemming 01 Jan 2021
In reply to paul_in_cumbria:

>  Hmm

>  Leads Tories to 80 seat victory, says ‘get Brexit done’ and does it, pulls out an agreement with the EU where the clever money was on ‘no deal’, turns into a Marxist handing out furlough, first vaccine roll out.

Boris did lead the Tories to victory, but do you remember who he was up against?

And did Boris do all the EU negotiating, or did he delegate to smaller minds?

As for the handing out of free money during furlough, I'd Sunak deserves all the glory for that one.

And first vaccine role out?

Lets watch how that pans out, shall we?

It would seem that targets/statistics are more important than lives at the moment, with extending the second dose time-frames to get more people jabbed.

> I’m not a Brexiteer or a Boris fan, and find the Tories repugnant. However, the Tories are certainly in power with a workable majority, and based on that spin, Boris could cruise it as PM until at least 2030. I guess he won’t have the backbone for it, but Sunak will.

I think Sunak shone too soon and too brightly for the Tories which means that he is squarely in the cross-hairs of Boris and Pob.


 

2
In reply to The Lemming:

> Boris did lead the Tories to victory, but do you remember who he was up against?

And he was riding the single issue vote.

The "who was he up against" also explains the much-vaunted "Corbyn effect"; I think a lot of people voted "anything but Tory", rather than "pro Corbyn".

In reply to J1234:

> Well, no, this is a definition of Populism,

Well, duh...

 jkarran 01 Jan 2021
In reply to The Lemming:

> Well, Brexit is now history. Its done!

It's really not, it's just becoming more defined bit by bit. The renegotiations will start before the last i's are dotted. 

> But what about Boris and the coming year?

Johnson is a flak jacket for the Conservative party, he's going nowhere. 

> Does he really have the cojones to run this country?

You don't need courage if you're born to rule, you're infallible, all failures flow from others' failure to heed your authority or mirror your enthusiasm. I doubt Johnson will lose a wink over the ruin he's lead us to, same as his families really, one day he'll just move on and not look back.

Jk

Andy Gamisou 02 Jan 2021
In reply to J1234:

>  I suppose we should be grateful we have not ended up with Ken Dodd as PM.

You do have his Diddy Men as the cabinet though.

 tom r 02 Jan 2021
In reply to jkarran:

Yep. They havent come to final deal on services yet. Something nearly all media have totally failed to inform the population about. Arguably far more important than physical goods trade for the economy.

1
J1234 02 Jan 2021
In reply to captain paranoia:

> > Well, no, this is a definition of Populism,

> Well, duh...

Ah condescension, you must be dead clever.

Appreciating why other people do things, like vote the way they do, is the first step on the way to getting them to do what you want them to do. 

5
 NaCl 02 Jan 2021
In reply to Blunderbuss:

I don't even know your window cleaner and I'd rather have him than Boris. Saying that my cat would be preferable.

 deepsoup 02 Jan 2021
In reply to gimmergimmer:

> He'll write a best selling book of it all, when he's finished wrecking the country. And I hate to say it but it'll do a lot better than Cameron's borefest.

I wonder if it'll get better reviews than his last one:
https://www.newstatesman.com/books/2014/11/one-man-who-made-history-another...

 Andy Clarke 02 Jan 2021
In reply to deepsoup:

> I wonder if it'll get better reviews than his last one:https://www.newstatesman.com/books/2014/11/one-man-who-made-history-ano...

I fear you've made the mistake of reading a review by a proper eminent historian who's an expert in the field. You need to be guided by the ill-informed opinions of fellow hacks who are easily impressed by zingy journalese. Gove would soon put you straight on the untrustworthiness of experts. (And yes, I do know the full context of his famous phrase, and no, it doesn't at all excuse it.)

OP The Lemming 02 Jan 2021
In reply to jkarran:

>  It's really not, it's just becoming more defined bit by bit. The renegotiations will start before the last i's are dotted. 

>  Johnson is a flak jacket for the Conservative party, he's going nowhere. 

So we've not left the EU then?

 jkarran 02 Jan 2021
In reply to The Lemming:

Of course we've left the EU and we can never go back but they're still there, still our biggest partner, market and if we choose, threat. We've only just started formalising our new relationship, that is as much 'brexit' as the act of leaving. 

Jk

 The New NickB 02 Jan 2021
In reply to J1234:

I'm probably not the best person to gauge this sort of thing because I liked Ed Miliband, I like him even more now. I like Starmer, but he isn't a clown and at least some people seem to think acting the clown is an important statesman like quality.

Given that I am obviously a poor judge of the mood of the electorate, I check out the opinion polls from time to time. YouGov are currently giving a Labour under Starmer a 4 point lead over Johnson (41% vs. 37%) Obviously we can never trust a single opinion poll, but if we look at the average of the first ten YouGov polls of 2020, the Tories averaged 49%, with Labour averaging 31.4%. The last ten YouGov opinion polls of 2020 give the Tories an average of 37.7% and Labour and average of 38.7%. The result of the December 2019 election was 44% vs. 32%.

It seems that the public are warming to Starmer and falling out of love with Johnson.

 Morty 02 Jan 2021
In reply to The New NickB:

> It seems that the public are warming to Starmer and falling out of love with Johnson.

Probably more of the latter than the former. 

 squarepeg 02 Jan 2021
In reply to The Lemming:

I can't imagine anybody warming to starmer, somehow. 

5
 Pete Pozman 02 Jan 2021
In reply to Blunderbuss:

> TBH, I'd rather have my window cleaner as PM than Boris....

youtube.com/watch?v=D0P3-oXXgQE&

Could be the best choice? 

 Pete Pozman 02 Jan 2021
In reply to J1234:

> Well, no, this is a definition of Populism,a political approach that strives to appeal to ordinary people who feel that their concerns are disregarded by established elite groups.

And is that what Johnson does, do you think?

That definition is very weighted, by the way. I would contest and say that "populism" is simply a synonym for demagoguery: tell the people you are their best friend, find out  what the people hate, whip them up and make outlandish promises premised on some minority's suffering. Populists/demagogues are usually members of the "elite", cf Johnson, trump, Farage. 

J1234 02 Jan 2021
In reply to The New NickB:

> It seems that the public are warming to Starmer and falling out of love with Johnson.

I think the problem Johnson has is he is dealing with an unprecedented situation, Covid, and telling people what to do and restricting their freedoms, and not many people like that, but its a long time to the next election.

I am not suggesting that he is doing a good or a bad job of Covid, as that will be a matter for the Historians. I look around and the countries that seem to be doing the best seem are the authoritarian countries such as China or the countries were the people seem to be prepared to put society before the individual such as South Korea and Japan. Western democracies seem to be having a tougher time, even Germany is having it bad with Merkel in charge and a people who seem to be quite disciplined.

 

6
 colinakmc 02 Jan 2021
In reply to The Lemming:

Even the Tory establishment know he’s useless, I’d give him till the spring before they come for him.

 fred99 02 Jan 2021
In reply to squarepeg:

> I can't imagine anybody warming to starmer, somehow. 

A number of people on this forum, myself included, have stated on this forum that, now Labour has Starmer in charge, they will gladly vote Labour in future - rather than LibDem/Green/Abstain.

(In my case I "held my nose" at the last election).

OP The Lemming 02 Jan 2021
In reply to colinakmc:

> Even the Tory establishment know he’s useless, I’d give him till the spring before they come for him.


The 1922 Committee is very pragmatic, efficient and ruthless if they smell a weak leader within an election cycle. Basically the 1922 Bods are on high alert all the time.

As much as I hate to say this but the Tories let their best potential leader slip, Jeremy Cu nt.

 Dr.S at work 02 Jan 2021
In reply to The Lemming:

> The 1922 Committee is very pragmatic, efficient and ruthless if they smell a weak leader within an election cycle. Basically the 1922 Bods are on high alert all the time.

> As much as I hate to say this but the Tories let their best potential leader slip, Jeremy Cu nt.


what I find a bit dispiriting is how much better politicians are when they are out of office/cabinet.


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