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Original poster

Which prime minister would you want in charge at the moment?

309 replies

Xuli · 22/09/2020 19:30

You can chose any PM from recent memory, say about the 1979s.

After a convo with DH this morning we agreed that Blair might have managed this crisis the best, not that it's probably a great bunch to choose from...

OP posts:
SheepandCow · 23/09/2020 15:18

Thatcher as PM with Brown as Chancellor
How about Major back in his former role? If people want calm and considered.

So - Thatcher as PM, Major as Chancellor...

Original poster
Xuli · 23/09/2020 16:16

@Graphista

And...the votes are in?

Tally at this stage reveals

1st Blair
2nd brown
3rd thatcher
4th May
5th Major

Special mention to jacinda Ardem who places 6th but is ineligible

Nicola sturgeon 4 votes
John smith ditto with 2 votes

1 vote each merkel, corbyn, Johnson, Cameron, arttlee and miliband

Wow, thanks @Graphista!
OP posts:
Bluntness100 · 23/09/2020 16:21

I’m not sure, I think Teresa may wouldn’t have coped with the pressure of it to be honest. Brexit nearly took her out. She’d have struggled to do both that and Covid I think and come through it still standing. She was also fairly shit at communicating with the public which is required.

Blair is a lying cheating toad, I can’t believe anyone would wish that twat back.

I think probably thatcher as well, she’d a set of balls on her to be fair.

SheepandCow · 23/09/2020 16:35

@Bluntness100
Tony Blair is no toad. Toads are rather sweet creatures. We used to have one in our back garden. Very handsome fellow.

SisterAgatha · 23/09/2020 17:01

The only one who would've stopped Covid spreading here - therefore negating the need for furlough, etc, is Thatcher.

This is a fair point. I concur.

Mumratheevergiving · 23/09/2020 17:17

Half decent human being ex PM would be Brown. I couldn’t see the care homes policy happening under his watch.

May or even Cameron would have taken it more seriously than Johnson from the off. They also knew how to sack ministers over poor performance and sometimes be honest with the public - qualities Johnson does not possess.

user1497207191 · 23/09/2020 17:25

@Mumratheevergiving

Half decent human being ex PM would be Brown. I couldn’t see the care homes policy happening under his watch.

May or even Cameron would have taken it more seriously than Johnson from the off. They also knew how to sack ministers over poor performance and sometimes be honest with the public - qualities Johnson does not possess.

Brown had the right ideas, but he was pretty incompetent in making them happen as he had no vision of reality, i.e. unforeseen consequences etc.
DarkmilkAddict · 23/09/2020 17:27

Blair/Brown jobshare

MaryBerrysChutney · 23/09/2020 17:29

Thatcher, Cameron or Gordon Brown.

marvellousnightforamooncup · 23/09/2020 17:46

Blair or possibly Major.

IsadoraQuagmire · 23/09/2020 18:01

Mrs Thatcher, definitely. Oddly enough, I was saying this to someone earlier today.

unmarkedbythat · 23/09/2020 18:09

In order of preference choosing only from PMs of my lifetime

Tony Blair
Gordon Brown
Margaret Thatcher and may my family forgive me for not placing her at the bottom of any list ever on sheer fucking principle
John Major
Theresa May
David Cameron
Boris Johnson

unmarkedbythat · 23/09/2020 18:17

I forgot reasons!

Blair would make sure the message was properly managed. The media would be on side. He would get good experts in and listen to them. He would find a reasonable balanced compromise between protecting the economy and protecting lives.

Brown would do what he thought was right and not what he thought would get approval. Also would have got good experts in place although he'd likely fall out with at least one of them big time. Media would be a bit hit and miss but if we had Campbell around to sort that for him it would be more OK than not. Again, would have had a good balance when it came to lives and monies.

Margaret Thatcher's name has been a swearword for my entire life, but the woman was undeniably competent. She meant what she said and stood for what she believed in (shame what she stood for was such bullshit and brought such suffering to so many). I don't recall her media handling skills, I was too young, but I get the impression she did it well enough. I think she would have prioritised the economy over individual lives, but I also think she would end up preventing more death than Johnson's mob will do simply by being far more organised and logical and pragmatic.

John Major, baby Margaret.

David Cameron, reckless fucking lightweight shit who got us into our current terrible mess. Talks the talk. Can't walk. Embarrassing.

Boris Johnson is Boris Johnson.

RoSEbuds6 · 23/09/2020 18:17

It's hard isn't it.
You want someone firm - Thatcher - but kind and compassionate too, and she really wasn't that.
Thatcher/Brown coalition?

unmarkedbythat · 23/09/2020 18:18

Can't even come up with anything to say about Theresa May other than "shit at it, but more substance than Johnson and Cameron".

RunningWaterfall · 23/09/2020 18:32

I’m still trying to work out whether Cameron would have handled this any better than Johnson. Mind you, he’d probably have resigned by now...

Don’t think May would have been great, either. She didn’t seem to be very good at working with other MPs.

Original poster
Xuli · 23/09/2020 18:54

I think Cameron would have been better than Johnson, definitely. He always felt he was more of a politician, whereas Johnson only wants what's best or interesting for Johnson.

OP posts:
Mumratheevergiving · 23/09/2020 19:44

@user1497207191 Brown had the right ideas, but he was pretty incompetent in making them happen as he had no vision of reality, i.e. unforeseen consequences etc

Sounds like the present incumbents! I might not agree with the politics of many of them but they all have more integrity and more respect for a working democracy than Johnson.

ZarasHouse · 23/09/2020 19:49

Anyone but Boris. He's the absolute worst of a bad bloody bunch

feelingverylazytoday · 23/09/2020 19:53

Margaret Thatcher (and this is probably the only time I'll ever say this). Mainly due to her science background.

RunningWaterfall · 23/09/2020 20:29

I wonder if Johnson would have been quite as awful if Dominic Cummings wasn’t his adviser?

DominaShantotto · 23/09/2020 20:42

@feelingverylazytoday

Margaret Thatcher (and this is probably the only time I'll ever say this). Mainly due to her science background.
In the absence of Larry the Cat, I have to say (and as a child of the NE during the miners strike, it pains every bone in my body to do so) I kind of agree with this. I think she would have at least been much more decisive about the course she was taking which would have meant we coped better than the constant flip-flopping and floating ideas with leaks to check if they're going to piss the public off more or less before making a decision, and hiding wherever possible, that we've currently been landed with.
DominaShantotto · 23/09/2020 20:43

Anyone who would offer more leadership than hiding as much as possible, occasionally appearing to blether some incoherent waffle like an Asda Smart Price Churchull rip-off which is what we seem to be stuck with.

glowworm93 · 23/09/2020 20:47

I think Theresa May or John Major.

I'm not a Johnson fan but I do feel.sorry for him. This is the worst possible time for him to be PM. Plays to absolutely none of his strengths (and he does have some IMO).

Howmanysleepsnow · 23/09/2020 21:33

Blair. But if I could go back further, Churchill.