UK General Discussion:The Rt. Hon Alex Boris de Pfeffel Johnson, Populist Hero

[NewYorkExpress]

Authorities in Scotland's Tay region are under fire for appointing a man as the period dignity officer.

Local authorities in Scotland have come in for criticism after they appointed a man to the role of period dignity officer, responsible for coordinating the region's response to a new law that makes menstrual products free to access in the country.

A group of colleges and local councils in Tay region in eastern Scotland announced the appointment of Jason Grant, who previously worked as a student wellbeing officer at a local college, to the role on Thursday.

However, critics argue that a woman would have been better suited to the job.

https://twitter.com/Martina/status/1559276607398871041?s=20&t=-_FcFfp_WXwHeH...

https://twitter.com/Martina/status/1559280529253474305?s=20&t=-_FcFfp_WXwHeH...

https://twitter.com/DrProudman/status/1559865048683749376?s=20&t=_ZLjkW_V5cH...

[CumbrianLefty]

Usual overhyped nonsense as far as this vexed topic is concerned.

[JimJamUK]

The newest YouGov poll has Labour ahead by 15%. Less than a month ago they found a (semi) shock poll of Labour’s lead falling to only 1% (which was not repeated by other pollsters afterwards). They do seem to bounce around a lot these days having some of the biggest and smallest Labour leads at various times.

[Torrain]

Aye. It’s amazing that YouGov have, in the past 30 days alone, essentially presented data suggesting that the election could be anywhere between a 2010/2017-style hung Parliament, to a 1997-style landslide for Labour. About as useful as a chocolate teapot.

I expect polls to be swingy right now, given that the public don’t seem to have formed strong opinions about the PM-to-be yet, which will be key to polling going forward. But… I really doubt that the public are ricocheting between the parties to the point that we can see a 13% swing in a fortnight.

Curious about what’s causing all this white noise - is it sampling error? Or just a side effect of the circumstances, with both the parliamentary recess, and the interregnum in Downing Street leaving a political vacuum that’s tricky to poll?

[Blair]

Briefing overnight about the next cabinet- Braverman as Home Secretary, Deadwood returning to Government after 30 years and Rees Mogg at levelling up are actual lols. Are they trying to lose the next election?

I loved that it was briefed that Braverman could bring her legal expertise to the small boats challenge- which in itself is deeply hilarious.

[Cassius]

Briefing overnight about the next cabinet- Braverman as Home Secretary, Deadwood returning to Government after 30 years and Rees Mogg at levelling up are actual lols. Are they trying to lose the next election?

I loved that it was briefed that Braverman could bring her legal expertise to the small boats challenge- which in itself is deeply hilarious.

My King is Alive

[CumbrianLefty]

Aye. It’s amazing that YouGov have, in the past 30 days alone, essentially presented data suggesting that the election could be anywhere between a 2010/2017-style hung Parliament, to a 1997-style landslide for Labour. About as useful as a chocolate teapot.

I expect polls to be swingy right now, given that the public don’t seem to have formed strong opinions about the PM-to-be yet, which will be key to polling going forward. But… I really doubt that the public are ricocheting between the parties to the point that we can see a 13% swing in a fortnight.

Curious about what’s causing all this white noise - is it sampling error? Or just a side effect of the circumstances, with both the parliamentary recess, and the interregnum in Downing Street leaving a political vacuum that’s tricky to poll?

I suspect the one point lead may have been more of an "outlier" than this one - its not exactly beyond the bounds of possibility Labour have had a bit of a bounce after unveiling a very popular policy that has also had a fair amount of mostly positive publicity.

[Continential]

The remnants of UKIP have a hidious new logo.

[Blair]

https://twitter.com/chriscurtis94/status/1561067520932675584

[JimJamUK]

Given that the current Opinium methodology is geared towards stability and is as much a projection as a snapshot in time, that’s a surprisingly large Labour lead.

[YL]

Given that the current Opinium methodology is geared towards stability and is as much a projection as a snapshot in time, that’s a surprisingly large Labour lead.

Indeed once you adjust for the differing methodologies the messages of the Opinium and the most recent YouGov (the Lab 43 Con 28 one) are similar.

I wonder how much of a honeymoon in the polls Truss will actually get?

[Blair]

Tory MPs once again getting themselves caught in a storm of sh**t over sewage being pumped into the sea.

It's seen a large number of beaches closed in the middle of the holidays & they voted against an amendment that would have banned this last year- it got them into a lot of trouble then.

As a member of the Labour right it is hilarious to see the 'actual the amendment we voted for superseded the non-binding amendment we amended on the programme motion' argument- it won't work!

[JimJamUK]

If you ever wanted a good example of how the British press live in an alternate universe (and which is probably increasingly harmful to the long-term interests of the Conservative Party), look no further than tomorrows Express headline “VOTERS WONT FORGIVE RAIL STRIKE BETRAYAL”. They’re talking about something of substance like the governments response or the actions or the train operators/unions, right? Nope, it’s the Labour Party which is the problem. Is any normal, persuadable voter obsessing over the Labour Party’s lack of opposition (or frankly opinion) to the rail strikes, probably not. Are the aforementioned voters a lot more concerned about finding a resolution and by extension the actions of relevant actors, probably. Are papers like the Express doing anything to push the government towards a better actual outcome, no.

[Joe Republic]

When he announced his resignation on 7 July, Boris Johnson insisted it was crucial that he stay in office until a new prime minister was ready to take over.

He rejected the suggestion he should hand over to his deputy, Dominic Raab, as an interim premier – claiming it would be unacceptable to leave a vacuum at the heart of Government.

But that vacuum has come anyway. This week the prime minister has been on holiday in Greece, his second getaway in three weeks, and his spokesman admitted he was not even reading Government papers. “I get the feeling No 10 have completely checked out,” one Whitehall official said. “It’s really bad.”

The rot started to set in within days of Mr Johnson’s decision to step down. Ministers had expected a rush of legislation during the two weeks between his resignation and the start of the summer recess, which the Prime Minister could then point to in years to come as evidence of his policy legacy.

But key Bills – in particular, the Online Safety Bill which has been more than three years in the making – were rapidly yanked off the agenda. And as that happened government departments rapidly emptied of civil servants.

Figures obtained by i reveal that in the week the PM resigned, Whitehall offices were half empty with only 55 per cent of officials present.

Two weeks later, as the Conservative leadership campaign got under way, it fell to only 35 per cent, with nearly two third of civil servants either absent or working from home. Just 20 per cent of Defra were present, with only 22 per cent coming in to the Foreign Office.

BoJo isn't just running a lame duck government.  The duck is floating upside down.

The "how could anybody tell?" joke is far too obvious and therefore worth no points.

[Pulaski]

Surprised no-one's left a sign outside no. 10 saying "Sorry you were out when I visited, I look forward to seeing you in the office very soon" yet.

[No War, but the War on Christmas]

https://twitter.com/vanillatary/status/1561642291873435648?s=20&t=fZGoOQMIsk...

This can't be true.

[Silent Hunter]

Johnson in 2019 got the highest popular vote for any party since 1970.  A lot has changed since then.

[CumbrianLefty]

https://twitter.com/vanillatary/status/1561642291873435648?s=20&t=fZGoOQMIsk...

This can't be true.

It *is* true, but its much more an expression of disdain for his proposed replacements than a belief that BoJo is wonderful (see also back in the day, Corbyn J) Yes there are diehard Johnson cultists, but they amount to about half that 46% at most.

[No War, but the War on Christmas]

https://twitter.com/vanillatary/status/1561642291873435648?s=20&t=fZGoOQMIsk...
This can't be true.

It *is* true, but its much more an expression of disdain for his proposed replacements than a belief that BoJo is wonderful (see also back in the day, Corbyn J) Yes there are diehard Johnson cultists, but they amount to about half that 46% at most.

I suppose it matches with the 50 vs. 50 percent matchups you see between Trump and Non-Trump candidates in the GOP for instance, too. Johnson is no Trump but he shares a similar bombastic type of leadership.

[CumbrianLefty]

Johnson in 2019 got the highest popular vote for any party since 1970. A lot has changed since then.

John Major wants a word.

It was indeed the highest *percentage* since 1970, beating Thatcher in 1979 by a whisker (though the Liberals left a scattering of seats uncontested then)

[Blair]

All things considered they're still pretty weak numbers of an incumbent PM!

But yes it's partly a reason why I wonder if it would have been better for the party if he lost an election- Thatcher not losing in 1992 (as she imo would have) caused 20 years of problems.

Despite the public utterances elite opinion within the party about Johnson had shifted after the local elections & by-elections about Johnson- this certainly filtered through the lower ranks of the party (local councillors are often the canaries in the coalmine and they were broadly furious with Johnson)

The one thing I will say is that while Johnson was hated by the vast majority of public he does have an ability & affinity to re-brand himself and make life hard for Labour- he had dug himself in such a deep hole that it was broadly impossible post partygate but there's a reason people were insisting on the day he resigned that he wasn't actually going to quit & it was all a magic trick!

[MABA 2020]

Yeah it's a shame really, Johnson losing in '24 would've been more satisfying than Truss losing (assuming thats what happens)

[Swedish Rainbow Capitalist Cheese]

Yeah it's a shame really, Johnson losing in '24 would've been more satisfying than Truss losing (assuming thats what happens)

Don't worry, I'm sure two years of Truss will make her loss just as sweet.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Yeah it's a shame really, Johnson losing in '24 would've been more satisfying than Truss losing (assuming thats what happens)

On the other hand he will lose office in the most fundamentally humiliating manner of any PM since the 18th century, so...

[CumbrianLefty]

Yes, overall his downfall remains highly satisfying.