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

[Xuli]

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...

Thatcher or Major.

Blair or Brown

Gordon Brown.

I think he genuinely cares about other humans.

Theresa May 1st choice.
Blair probably 2nd choice.

I’m sad we have the current idiot and not Theresa May. She’d have been great at this - and actually done some leading.

I know she is not a UK Prime minister but,

Jacinda Arden, calm, no fuss, decisive...took the difficult choice of TOTALLY closing borders, as we should have done and has isolated any individuals with covid or suspected covid.

Just imagine if we had enforced total closure of our borders, the travel industry would have needed lots of funding but, most could have gone about their lives, schools unaffected, small businesses unaffected....
limited people quarantining.

If only we had taken this seriously in early Feb...like New Zealand.

Margaret Thatcher - decisive, unafraid of taking unpopular measures and a scientific background to boot.

Blair would be my first choice, I liked new labour

Then Thatcher - she was completely no nonsense, there'd have been no "go out but stay home" mumbling on. She'd have gone hard and tough from the beginning, not popular but the virus would have dropped right down. The economy would have gone to pot though - no furlough with her and as for "eat out to help out" ... but I reckon money would have gone on testing and proper tracing to avoid a second wave, allowing us to be picking things up now rather than facing stricter measures again.

@KonTikki

Best Question I've seen on Mumsnet for a long time .... and Yes, Blair by a country mile.

Why thank you

Gordon Brown.

Schemes like the Kickstarter youth jobs scheme are straight out of his playbook (and very reminiscent of Brown's Future Jobs Fund, which the Tories killed off). We'd also be much more on top of local lockdowns and test & trace if we still had the regional development agencies and the networks they supported. All these are things the Tories got rid of as apparently profligate spending by Brown.

Another vote for Jacinda.

@mirandatempest

Tony Blair 100% Would love Jonathan Powell to be in charge of civil service rather than Dominic Cummings.

Then Gordon Brown, then Theresa May.

Bloody hell! Blair the leech?!

@TimeStoleMyYouth

Margaret Thatcher - decisive, unafraid of taking unpopular measures and a scientific background to boot.

Divisive, snobby, nepotistic, uncaring and dismissive of the law. An internalised misogynist. Head up Reagan's arse. Yeah, so strong ...

Gordon Brown, with Ed Miliband and Keir Starmer as his deputies.

My immediate thought was Blair but actually, Thatcher.

Gordon Brown- he definitely wouldn't have had multiple holidays and attended all COBRA meetings when Hand Foot and Mouth was happening.

I grew up in Derbyshire in the 1980s hating Margaret Thatcher and everything she stood for.

However, as the only trained scientist ever to become PM, she would be the ideal person to be in charge during a pandemic. She would provide the opposite of Johnson’s lazy, slapdash, incompetent approach.

Blair definitely particularly as we’d still be in Europe.
I think some Tories had a sense of duty which is preferable to this corrupt bunch.

Joanna Lumley

Gordon Brown - sensible and pragmatic.
And unlike Thatcher wouldn't be content for the weak and poor to die

She would provide the opposite of Johnson’s lazy, slapdash, incompetent approach.

Tbf, so would a primary school child.

That's a great point AgeLikeWine

She may have done great daily briefings and PM messages to the nation as a scientist. I bet the CMO and CSO would be appreciated a PM with a good understanding of science

Blair

Would love to know if anyone saying "Thatcher" is Scottish?!?!

Thatcher - the strongest leader we've had in the last 50 years. Exactly what we need right now.

Brown would be a bloody disaster - he fouled up in so many ways (tax credits, pensions, limited company tax, IR35) - showed he had no actual common sense and realism. He may have been a great "thinker" but without the ability to translate ideas into reality he did more harm than good. He was terrible at thinking through the consequences of his actions. We really don't need someone like that at the moment!