To remind you all to register to vote...

[tumbleisatwat]

If you haven't already?

Also, encourage your older teenagers to register for the first time.

Boris has proposed election for December!

tumbleisatwat

He will win because he is the best of a bad lot.

He really isn't. He's the absolute worst it can get.

It shows you how low the bar really is.

No, it shows you how gullible people are, and how right wing the country instinctively is, or how comfortable we are as a nation doffing our caps to the eccentric posh chap and seeing it as a joke when he does us over. Or it will do if that is what happens, which it may but I haven't given up all hope...

I haven’t given up hope either. I think we’ll have a Parliament even more hung than the current one. Which will force cross party working.

@JadeDragon23

Women died for us to have the right to vote, you should vote and spoil your ballot if you don't like any candidate to honour them. My daughters are currently going round local colleges and universities to encourage women to register!

Boris has charisma- he's entertaining.

In what way does he entertain us, apart from making us laugh at the joke of a pm he is.
Charismatic, yeh he dribbles. In what way is he charming?
He'a a buffoon , charismatically baron.

Stuck

I won't be voting either, I'm glad we have the choice though, and thank those who went before, for fighting for our choice.

With you there Duchess. I am genuinely baffled at this "Boris is better than the others" mentality.

I know! I'm no fan of JC and the LDs have been disappointing in the sense that I think they're acting in self interest with their decision to support an early election. I don't like their or Labour's stance on women's rights either. But when the election comes I'll vote for which ever of the two will keep the Tories out in my area. There'll be no nose holding involved because preventing that narcissistic moral vacuum of a man from doing any more damage to this country is of paramount importance to me. Even with a different leader we need a break from the Tories; our public services need a government that will show some commitment to them, urgently.

theduchessstill

How are the others better?

Corbyn is the worst opposition leader that I have ever seen. (and I had high hopes for him when he was voted in)

The libdems seem to be basing everything on revoke article 50.

And no-one is willing to have an election because they know that they will lose to johnson.

Drabarni to many Boris Johnson is charismatic people are far more likely to listen what to listen to what he has to say that Jeremy Corbyn. It doesn’t mean people will agree but it gives him a chance to win voters over he has always gained attention

Lots of people in politics are charismatic (Clinton) great speakers (Hitler), charming (Blair, Obama) or fit into some role (Thatcher Iron Lady, Farage as the person so many love to hate)

All the above will/did in some way command attention and people will listen even if they disagree politics isn’t all about policy by gaining attention you get the chance to win voters over

If Jeremy Corbyn and Boris Johnson were on Question Time consecutive weeks we know who would get the higher ratings (that’s why Farage was on so often)

Just because you don’t like him (with good reason) it’s foolish to ignore that he good at gaining votes

THe "I don't vote" brigade make me angrier than the politicians sometimes (no, not really!) but when there are people all over the world who don't get a say in their own lives, or who queue for hours to make their choice known , I find the excuses about, it doesn't make a difference , I can't be arsed, etc really shallow. You walk around the corner to the polling station and make an X, what could be easier. Voting is a huge privilege that we have, but like all the privileges we have (NHS, free education, clean water, etc etc) it needs cherishing and valuing before someone starts to whittle it away and reduce its effectiveness.

My vote doesn't make a difference because I have always lived in areas where there is a very strong presence for a particular party and it would take a small nuclear explosion to change things. But I still vote, because a) i want my opinion registered, b) i want the right to moan and whinge about lack government/national government/European government(sob).

Lack =local , a typo not a statement!!!

Boney I agree JC is an appalling leader of the opposition, and with a half decent leader Labour would be storming ahead and it infuriates me that they are stuck with him and are trailing in the polls - though they also were in 2017 and made up a lot of ground, not enough, but enough to stop May storming ahead with a hard Brexit.

But however bad Corbyn is he has absolutely nothing on Johnson and I don't imagine for a second he would stoop to the depths BJ has. Johnson may do better in an election, but that's not because he's better than Corbyn, it'll be because people are gullible and fall for his shtick while mouthing crap like 'Corbyn is a nightmare and will wreck the economy, he's a Marxist,' without even knowing what that means.

BJ is better than JC at communicating? Maybe, but actually he's put in some awful appearances over the last few months - stuttering and blustering while a police woman passed out behind him; doing weird arm exercises standing next to Varadkir ata a press conference; pointing at the press and telling the parent of a sick child that no press were present... JC did turn out to be pretty good at campaigning last time around so we'll see...

I agree the LDs have been disappointing and I'm annoyed the Remain parties won't show a more united front, which they did to get the Benn act through but now seem to be turning on each other.

But still... worse than BJ? No way.

Oh, and I genuinely believe that many in the Labour party are opposed to an early election because they know that there is still a chance if a no-deal Brexit as things stand, and still will be up until next year even if the WA continues to make progress in the house. Yes, it's easier to believe they are just scared of BJ, but many have been very clear about the games BJ is playing and how imperative it is that we don't get sucked in and end up crashing out. That's a fact.

SNP and LDs are both pretty much guaranteed to gain a few remain seats so not sure why you think they are scared? Both now seem to have prioritised that short-term gain instead of stopping Brexit, which is pretty heartbreaking.

I dont think my preferred candidate has ever been elected for the whole of my adult life.

I will continue to vote because I cant give up hope that one time I will be on the winning side.

Our local tory mp is so awful, voting against him is the only way I can register my protest against him.

We have a very good Tory MP although sadly he is retiring at this election as far as I remember so hopefully we get someone just as good and it remains a Tory seat as it has been since at least 1950 thankfully. Our current one got almost 60% of the vote last time.

Labour have now agreed to back a GE

I agree Corbyn is good at campaigning or he was in the last election one he was up against May and two he caught the mood of many I am not sure that will be repeated due to his stance in Brexit

Catching the mood of the nation (or many voters) is also something that very much plays out and the mood for the majority is just get something done we know who is playing that card

Do all those people who are convinced of a Tory win remember that Johnson’s people kept him under wraps during the leadership contest? If he was so charismatic and charming, surely they’d have wheeled him out a every opportunity?

In a five week election campaign with all attention on him, the capacity for gaffes is endless and he won’t disappoint. Remember Brown lost the 2010 election after the “bigoted woman” comment. Johnson is capable of far worse and all his lies will come home to roost.

If he was so charismatic and charming, surely they’d have wheeled him out a every opportunity?

You don't ask the top seeded players at Wimbledon to play the qualifying rounds.

He had to play the qualifying rounds, his votes were counted at every stage. Is that all you’ve got @Clavinova?

It's really not worth the time off and potential loss of profit.

Whichever way you vote it's clear now it's a purely cosmetic ...affectation.

I can't afford to spend time buggering about looking for a polling office to play pretend voting, lmao

If he wasn’t a vote winner do you really think Leave would have won

Or he would win two consecutive London Mayor elections

Brown is a very different person to Johnson Brown also didn’t have the same pr team around him

Brown lacks that touch of getting to people (I have also been a supporter of his)

He was 100 votes ahead from the beginning wasn't he?

Is that all you’ve got Clavinova?

No - Katya Adler, the BBC's Europe Editor was gushing about Boris Johnson's charm a few weeks ago, and Rory Stewart said he "struggled" with his charm when he worked for him; "Every time I felt I was in a rage with him about something he disarms me."

Leave won through an illegal campaign and lots of targeted social media propaganda.

Labour’s always excelled at PR, Brown was stupid enough not to check that his mic was still on, whereas Johnson denied there were any press present while they were actually filming him! He’ll do a series of stupid things in an election campaign and social media will ensure they’re widely publicised.

pointing at the press and telling the parent of a sick child that no press were present

Which newspaper was there? If it was just BBC NEWS or SKY NEWS, then I wouldn't refer to the camera crew as 'the press'. Boris Johnson was interrupted by the father in mid sentence - if was he going to say, "It's the BBC" then I wouldn't say he was lying at all.

I’ve worked in comms for over 30 years @Clavinova. Press has included broadcast media since at least 1987. He lied. Plain and simple.

That 'justification' is utterly hilarious, Clavinova.

I think Johnson is good when it's going well but he doesn't cope well when he's challenged rather than adored. I think we'll see more of thr mask slipping over the coming weeks.