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...

@MikeUniformMike

May or Blair

If nothing else, Mrs May has remained in the House of Commons, which very few former PMs do.

Of course she has. How could she possibly resist the temptation of a ringside seat to watch her successor fuck everything up so comprehensively?

Blair is my choice.

Tony Blair.

@dannydyerismydad

Hugh Grant

Please

Those saying Thatcher - how was everyday living better under Thatcher?

It wasn't. But she was a scientist who was clear in her policies and wouldn't be swayed by public opinion. She would have had a pandemic plan and she would have stuck to it and everyone would know exactly where they stood and what they needed to do. Which has to be better than the flipflopping, chaotic shambles we have now, bending whichever way the winds of popularity blows them.

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

YES

Blair. But I'd take literally any of them right now rather than Boris fucking Johnson.

Thatcher was awful. Unless you had money behind you.

Blair or Major.

@mbosnz

Those saying Thatcher - how was everyday living better under Thatcher? I wasn't here under those days (Thank God), but I had friends that would do all but spit on the floor about what it was like. Of course, they were working class, so possibly didn't matter?

Some of her biggest supporters were the working class. My own view is the right to buy was one of the most destructive policies ever (sadly Tony Blair disagreed and enthusiastically continued it at a stage when it wasn't too late to repair a lot of the damage), but it was incredibly popular with many working class voters at the time (who didn't stop to consider where their children or grandchildren would be housed).

However, the OP is asking about a specific circumstance. She's not asking who we'd like as PM indefinitely.

Dealing with a pandemic effectively requires a strong decisive leader who isn't afraid to make unpopular choices. She was also a scientist, and I believe would've understood that an extremely contagious virus doesn't go away just because you ignore it - and I think she would've realised that the Aus and NZ island advantage approach of restricted borders from the start would've protected the economy (and lives).

Maggie all day long. "The lady's not for turning!" Like or loathe her, she did what she said she was going to do!

Gordon Brown - zero charisma but dependable, sensible and pragmatic. Just what's needed right now.

Gordon Brown.

I can't forgive Blair for the Iraq war and the poor guy who took his own life, I think his name was Dr David Kelly.

Really I wish Jess Phillips was PM though. She'd get it all sorted.

Every single one of them would have been better than Mr Johnson.

Margaret Thatcher for all the bad things that she did would have acted promptly and had some scientific knowledge.

Thatcher, no contest.

Blair in his prime had the advantage of being more of a unifying force than any prime minister in my lifetime, which is really helpful when you’re trying to persuade people to pull together. Actually Cameron pre-referendum was less divisive than most of the others, so that’s one (probably the only) thing in his favour.

I think a Blair/Brown combo would probably be my top pick. But at this point I’d even bite your arm off if you offered me Major, or May, or Thatcher who at least had a very good chemistry degree. I’d break out the champagne for Jeremy Hunt at this stage. Not quite desperate enough to take Gove though.

Maybe that’s the more difficult question. Which politicians would you like less as leaders than Johnson et al?

Gove
Enoch Powell
The one who’s just been convicted of sexual assault
Errrrm....

Brown would have had a strong moral compass in this situation I think.

Thatcher was an evil old boot. She’d have key all the vulnerable due and actually seen it as a good thing as the disabled and elderly cost the economy a lot of money. I hope she’s burning in hell right now!

Forgotten that Thatcher had a scientific background. That would be v handy atm.

You can just tell that boris hasn't got a clue about the scientific basis of it all. And is just reading by rote. If you have someone who actually understands the science that passion and understanding is conveyed to the audience

ABBB (Anyone But Bloody Boris)

Probably a Blair/ Brown partnership.

Blair by a country mile

Tony Blair

Blair

Thatcher, then May then probably Blair.

Women definitely seem better at leading during a health crisis.

@BashfulClam

Thatcher was an evil old boot. She’d have key all the vulnerable due and actually seen it as a good thing as the disabled and elderly cost the economy a lot of money. I hope she’s burning in hell right now!

It was the Blair/Brown governments that launched the war on the disabled and ill.

I'm shocked at the support for Thatcher here. I didn't realise mn was so right wing.