Would You Vote For Boris Tomorrow?

[Marshwarble]

Has anyone changed their mind? Would you no longer vote for Boris if there was an election tomorrow?

[pixie374]

I would definitely.

[jim360]

I didn't to start with, but -- so far -- I'm not sure that there's any reason to criticise Johnson's approach. It is maybe too reactive rather than proactive, but it's always been easier to make decisions from the sidelines. I have to assume that he is privy to information and advice that I am not, and the tone and policy strikes me as at least trying to be evidence-based, which is as it should be.

[jim360]

That said, it strikes me as unreasonable to criticise people who aren't in power for failing a hypothetical test. There are other reasons not to have voted for Corbyn; his supposed inability to respond effectively to a global pandemic is, I'd wager, low on the list.

[237SJ]

Yes

[jim360]

Having said that, there is something to be said for criticising Johnson for merely advising that large gatherings (sports, concerts, theatres, etc) be avoided, rather than banning them. This essentially passes the buck to the companies involved to foot the bill for the inevitable calculations. A formal government ban on such events would be hugely expensive to the Treasury, but would guarantee protections for the businesses in question, or for people unable to claim insurance or refunds if they make the decision to cancel trips etc.

That *is* a serious criticism, and I hope that the PM will back up this advice with legal action in the coming days to ensure that companies are compensated for the huge losses; otherwise many will not survive.

[naomi24]

The question is //Would You Vote For Boris Tomorrow?//

Is that a yes or a no, Jim?

Yes, I would vote for Boris tomorrow.

[jim360]

I wouldn't vote for him tomorrow, no. But that's nothing to do with the last few weeks.

[naomi24]

Thanks.

[naomi24]

TTT, //we all voted for our local MP. //

We did because that's how the system works, but given an alternative I wouldn't have voted for mine. I voted not for a specific politician, but for a Conservative government.

[diddlydo]

I didn't vote for him in December and I wouldn't vote for him now. He was passably OK in the press conference today but all things are relative i.e. he has been abysmal in the extreme thus far.

[237SJ]

22:36 That's a new one on me. I think you are overthinking this.

[ladybirder]

Yes.

[jim360]

237: see, for example, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-51906370

It's something to watch in the future, but it *is* true that government advice doesn't have the same force as government legislation. Earlier on in this crisis, for example, there was pressure to make Covid-19 a "notifiable" disease, which has certain legal consequences, eg a requirement for GPs to pass on data to a central body.

In this case, merely "advising" that events be cancelled doesn't provide justification on an insurance claim. If that's all that Johnson does then the losses to companies would run into probably billions, given the expected length of the crisis. I suspect that later in the week the advice will be backed up by emergency legislation, in which case the concerns in the article above will be addressed.

[ToraToraTora]

so jim, you'd vote Labour? Lib non dem?

[ToraToraTora]

diddly: "he has been abysmal in the extreme thus far." - Anti British left winger not impressed with Tory PM, shocker!

[gulliver1]

Well you would not really be voting for Boris would you . You would be voting for "Agent Dom".

[diddlydo]

TTT I've told you before but you clearly weren't listening - I am NOT anti-British.

[Theland]

Boris's Churchill moment?

[jourdain2]

Yes, I'd vote for him again.

Theland, I suspect that this is a 'Churchill' moment. I hope Boris is up to it. He seems to have sobered and changed. He's certainly the best we've got - and he knows a lot about Churchill! Both very fallible people; Churchill was a great leader in adversity. We'll see. I'm rather impressed (with good old hindsight) at the way the bad news has been doled out in dollops, thus spreading the response of the 'panic-buying' brethren and getting us prepared. Fingers firmly crossed!

[Hopkirk]

Imagine if Corbyn was in charge