To think that a personality cult has developed around Boris Johnson?

[Applejaxx]

I know this sounds completley ridiculous but have a quick look around social media and in particular Twitter, and you will see a disturbing number of people with lots of union flags in their twitter handle name who effectively think that the sun shines out of his arse, that he can do no wrong and that any justifiable criticism of his or his governments handling of the current crisis is part of a massive 'leftie' conspiracy against him.

They are terrified of 'lefties's and 'liberals' and think all of the media are out to get Boris and his government, it is just bat shit. Its not just Twitter either, I had to unfriend someone on Facebook after they told me that I should 'show Boris some fucking respect' a few weeks ago. This was after I'd shared something criticising his handling of the pandemic. Thankfully it was somone I don't really know that well and never have to see again, but still!

If im honest it all a bit disturbing. Its reminscent of a personality cult IMO, 'how dare you disrespect our glorious leader'.

BadLad you lot are like stuck record. 'But Corbyn, momentum blah, blah'.

The OP runs away from the point at a speed which would make The Flash envious.

It's quite funny that you posted this:

The lack of critical thinking and ability to have a proper debate is disturbing.

When what you actually want is an echo chamber.

I agree Mittens and I think Labour realise that now which is why they've gone for someone much more moderate.

@BadLad, it may well be. However, I've never known a leader before that when asked what's good about him the majority of people say 'hes funny' or 'I just like him'. Most people cannot expand on why, not even about Brexit unless they are staunch Leaver. More to the point of the OP, many people are still using these same lines despite glaringly large mistakes made by him and his government over the past few weeks, that cannot be purely be just on riding the 'get Brexit done' mentality. Many of Johnson's supporters are still hugely backing him, despite making some quite catastrophic mistakes that cost lives. That says all it needs to me.

MouthBreathingRage I don't that he is regarded as many in that way. I just think it's just as true of certain other politicians as well.

Sadly I think for some people he's as mysogonistic/rascist/selfish as they wish they could be in public and get away with it but then they realise they don't have millions of pounds, aristocratic heritage and PR people and isn't the world unfair.

So many people are dickheads and bojo is their leader.

Some people might vote for him for other reasons but I don't know any of those people.

Think you need more friends on social media, I don't think I've ever seen anyone have him on their profile 😂

To think that a personality cult has developed around Boris Johnson? In other words lots of people love Boris.👍🏼

a disturbing number of people with lots of union flags in their twitter handle name In other words a lot of people feel patriotic.👍🏼

They are terrified of 'lefties's and 'liberals' and think all of the media are out to get Boris MN is a great example of the many people who are out to get him.

I should 'show Boris some fucking respect' a few weeks ago
He is our Prime Minister, he should be shown respect.

Boris is doing a great job, lets all hope he recovers as quickly as possible because our country needs him back. 👍🏼 👍🏼

Yes ZombieFan such a great job that over 10,000 and rising are now dead on his watch.

Unless of course you are just on a wind up?

MouthBreathingRage posted too soon.

I think there are many voters who are never going to change their preferred party. For them, the best quality a leader can have is being able to win election, ahead of any particular policy. After the debacle of May's 2017 campaign Johnson will have been a particularly attractive choice. Such voters will defend their leader no matter what mayhem he mught cause. Example: Blair's reelection two years into the Iraq war, when the war had long since lost its initial support.

@ZombieFan, please expand on how he's doing 'a great job', and why we 'need him back'. Your post looks like one of those 'I back Boris' spammers on social media. Oh and respect is earned, not given just because of job status. That line of thinking is exactly why Trump is now thinking he has absolute power.

Applejaxx I know the virus is all his fault, he secretly knocked it out over xmas and posted to China. Is that the best extremists on the left have?

MouthBreathingRage Well he smashed it during the election and then told the EU where to go.

And yes my post was meant to look like one of those social media posts the op refers. Mission accomplished

Johnson is lazy, mendacious and immoral. He was a shit London mayor who wasted millions. Now he's a shit prime minister and doing even worse damage.

And yes, I also think Corbyn was a useless twat.

@ZombieFan, of course the virus isn't his fault, dont resort to hyperbolic behaviour to undermine a point. It is the way he's dealt with the incoming virus that has people questioning his abilities. If he'd acted sooner then there's a high chance less people would have been infected or died. Never mind how little protection there is for front line workers - or do you genuinely think our government has done enough for our NHS?

See that's exactly how utterly brainwashed his sycophantic fans are.

Ofcourse he could have done more... let's carry on and ignore the advice of the experts . He has blood on his hands. We are on course to have the highest death rate in Europe.

PSML extremists?! Not the brightest bulb are you ZombieFan?

Yes ZombieFan such a great job that over 10,000 and rising are now dead on his watch.

What explains the over 10,000 dead in Spain, Italy and France, if Boris is the main reason for it in the UK?

(I do think there was a period of a week or two when we were on the wrong path, that cost us some time. But I don't think any time that was lost was because anyone in politics or the civil service was stupid, or negligent, or took their eye off the ball. )

@ZombieFan, smashing an election doesn't equate to a good PM. What has he done well during this pandemic? Or is he just a one-trick Brexit pony?

‘Boris has the it factor’ - seriously? Add an SH and maybe. The man is a nasty bit of work packaged carefully inside a ‘loveable buffoon’ persona that only thick people don’t see through.

He has no morals just ambition and self- interest. And he has made a royal fuck up of Covid 19 and one day needs to be made to account for it.

@RandomLondoner, if you look at the scale in proportion, the UK has had consistently higher death rates than other countries. We are looking to be the highest affected country in Europe by the end of this. Also, we are looking at the mistakes our government has made, not others. There are definitely ways they could have and still could handle it better, that period of a week or two at the start was absolutely crucial in terms of how this will end.

MouthBreathingRage You dont need to keep using @, I am right here!

Uniting the country and leading a strong government needs a majority and Boris achieved that. That does makes him a great leader. Or do you think we should go back to 3 years of paralysed government like TM had?

Up until he nearly worked himself to death he was doing as well as every other EU leader, during this pandemic and a hell of a lot better than leaders like Trump.

He didn't nearly 'work himself death'. He was arrogant and believed firstly that he wouldn't get the virus and when he did get it that he wouldn't be affected like the rest of us mortals. Being an overweight hard drinking smoker put paid to that though.

I agree that that week or two lost has cost us, at the moment we look like we're on the same relative trajectory as Italy or Spain, when we could have done better, given we had a little more time.

The part I disagree about is that that has anything in particular to do with the massive flaws or unique evil of Boris Johnson. I suspect he did more or less exactly what Theresa May, or David Cameron, or Gordon Brown, or Tony Blair would have done, faced with exactly the same advice.

(My impression is the UK tried to apply an off-the-shelf plan they had prepared for a flu pandemic, and it took them a couple of weeks to realise that wasn't going to work. And it wasn't politicians, or even civil servants, who changed tack, my impression is that it was the scientists who changed, when they got new data from Italy that radically changed their predictions.)

Everyone said this would happen unless we did the same and went into lock down.. That's why Ireland listened and shut the country down and started testing. That toad refused to listen and carried on with his bollicking faux Churchill speeches.

We had the example of other countries, already affected by Covid, to follow re Covid. We knew ventilators, PPE were essential, we knew lockdown was essential.

We did sod all. We even let events like the Cheltenham Races proceed!

Johnson is useless.

The part I disagree about is that that has anything in particular to do with the massive flaws or unique evil of Boris Johnson.

That was meant ironically, I should clarify.