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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Worst in Living Memory?

641 replies

ElephantWhaleRabbit · 21/12/2020 13:45

Maybe it’s because we’re all caught up in everything right now, but AIBU to think Boris Johnson the worst Prime Minister in living memory? I mean, which of the former PMs, wouldn’t you swap in for him? Or is he just a victim of a bad set of circumstances?

OP posts:
LexMitior · 22/12/2020 21:34

Johnson appeals to a certain sort of person. He is positive, and has a kind of upper class bonhomie that the English like. That he’s totally unpopular in Scotland is unsurprising.

Anyway, he is big on promises and long on delivery. But this lack of detail cuts both ways. Those who vote for him tend not to be details people either. On the other hand, they will not be bought off by some extra funding and a few social initiatives. He will have to show something a lot better and bigger than that.

winniestone37 · 22/12/2020 21:39

@Crankley bah ha ha ha did you just group all Labour voters all together?! How incredibly high minded and insightful of you 🤣Do you actually know ALL Labour voters? No of course not. In trying to prove some kind of superiority you simply made your self look silly and ridiculous. I think most of us could name 3 terrible Labour prime ministers, the worst of all obviously being Tony Blair. May I suggest you treat politics less like a primary school football match and you extend a little more rational thinking to those you might vote differently to you.

Peregrina · 22/12/2020 21:45

Not wrong, on here a poster blamed the 3 day week on Labour.... despite it happening under Edward Heath.

And another referred to Labour Governments of the 1950s without apparently realising that Attlee got voted out in 1951 so we had eight half years of Tory rule in the 50s. Harold Wilson finally got in in Autumn 1964 ending 13 years of Tory misrule - as I recall the slogan was, and after the Tories were brought down by the Profumo affair.

After MacMillan resigned, supposedly with ill health, he was replaced by yet another unremarkable old Etonian, Alec Douglas Home, who only lasted a year. The leadership ought to have gone to RA Butler, but the men in suits weren't having that.

Eton rather has had a habit post war of producing some especially poor Prime Ministers when you remember that we also need to add Anthone Eden into the mix as well as Cameron and Johnson. Yet they seem to think that they are born to rule.

StoneofDestiny · 22/12/2020 22:03

He has been a disaster for the country.
His lying on the lead up to Brexit and his subsequent handling of The process..
His support for the indefensible behaviour of colleagues - Patel and Cummings just two examples
His offensive racist comments
His proposal to jump ship early next year while the shit is still flying ie 'to spend more time with the family'
His immorality across the board - personal and political - a man who wanted to be PM on a single issue agenda - and to fuel his own ego. He really doesn't give a shit about ordinary people.

214 · 22/12/2020 22:04

I suppose we will only be able to tell in the fullness of time, but I can only remain thankful we didn't have to look to Jeremy Corbyn as PM for solace, firm leadership and reassurance (full disclosure, I always vote but not for either of the 2 main parties last time round).

MummyMayo1988 · 22/12/2020 22:09

Actually I think ANY of the Labour leaders we've had are the worse. Borrowing money to just give it away - like that solves everything!
Borris is making the hard decisions based on the information he has at the time. No one can see or predict the future and I'd like to see ANYONE do a better job.
if people just stuck to the rules; maybe this would be over by now.
Maybe if people didn't go to the beach in summer when we were supposed to be in lockdown; it would be different now.
if everyone wore masks, stuck to social distancing and washed their hands more; we wouldn't essentially be in another lockdown for Xmas.
My family have stuck to the rules. We didn't see anyone for nearly 7 months the first time round. We haven't seen anyone again since August. Now we won't be seeing them for Xmas. Really ticks me off to see people just saying they don't care about the rules and making it up as they go along.
This is the publics fault! Not thw government!

Peregrina · 22/12/2020 22:13

I agree virtually ANYONE could have done a better job. As for the public sticking to the rules, why on earth should they do when Cummings blatantly flouted them, and instead of offering his resignation was backed up by Johnson and the nodding dogs in his Cabinet?

looseddaughter · 22/12/2020 22:22

Actually I think ANY of the Labour leaders we've had are the worse. Borrowing money to just give it away - like that solves everything!

But you're fine with Johnson et al giving away millions of pounds of public money to their rich mates, as has been detailed on this thread and widely reported elsewhere?

Everything you have said is wrong, but just take this example - it's everything that's wrong with people and allows the Tories to get away with their shit:
Maybe if people didn't go to the beach in summer when we were supposed to be in lockdown; it would be different now.

We weren't in Lockdown in the summer. It was lifted on July 4th - remember - Independence day? It was lifted early and without a functioning test, track and trace system in place as the job had been given to a private company that just wasn't up to it. People going to the beaches weren't breaking rules - they may not have been sensible to go to crowded places but the lockdown had been lifted and we were being encouraged to 'eat out to help out'. But you remember it in a way that blames everyone apart from the very people who should have been providing the clear leadership that should have prevented or at least minimised dangerous and risky behaviours instead of putting out mixed messages that were soon back-peddled away from anyway, leaving many people unsure of what to do for the best. You are angry with the wrong people!

CaptainSandy · 22/12/2020 22:25

Borrowing money to just give it away - like that solves everything!

You're quite okay with billions of taxpayers money going to crony contracts though right?

SpudsandGravy · 22/12/2020 22:28

He was always going to be utterly crap - he doesn't have the gravitas to lead a country. In this situation, though, unfortunately he's been a complete catastrophe for all of us.

Peregrina · 22/12/2020 22:28

The public's compliance with the early lockdown took the Government by surprise. In the opinion of many of us, it was Cummings blatantly flouting the rules and using a pathetic excuse about 'testing his eyesight' that made us all question why we had been such mugs to obey the rules.

Even now, many still are being cautious, but they can't exactly obey the rules because they don't know what they are from one moment to the next.

TheBuffster · 22/12/2020 22:30

@looseddaughter

Actually I think ANY of the Labour leaders we've had are the worse. Borrowing money to just give it away - like that solves everything!

But you're fine with Johnson et al giving away millions of pounds of public money to their rich mates, as has been detailed on this thread and widely reported elsewhere?

Everything you have said is wrong, but just take this example - it's everything that's wrong with people and allows the Tories to get away with their shit:
Maybe if people didn't go to the beach in summer when we were supposed to be in lockdown; it would be different now.

We weren't in Lockdown in the summer. It was lifted on July 4th - remember - Independence day? It was lifted early and without a functioning test, track and trace system in place as the job had been given to a private company that just wasn't up to it. People going to the beaches weren't breaking rules - they may not have been sensible to go to crowded places but the lockdown had been lifted and we were being encouraged to 'eat out to help out'. But you remember it in a way that blames everyone apart from the very people who should have been providing the clear leadership that should have prevented or at least minimised dangerous and risky behaviours instead of putting out mixed messages that were soon back-peddled away from anyway, leaving many people unsure of what to do for the best. You are angry with the wrong people!

This^
akerman · 22/12/2020 22:40

Fucking hell. I can’t believe anyone is coming on here to blame Labour govnmtsfor borrowing money to just give it away at the moment. Did you just completely miss how much has been handed to Johnson’s mates with no experience for PPE and, erm, Track and Trace.

LexMitior · 22/12/2020 22:45

Well there you go; a Johnson supporter either ignorant of actual facts or detail. You could then conclude he is doing his best...

Jente · 22/12/2020 22:48

Yanbu, the worst PM in a long shitty line. I've no sympathy for him, he's schemed, lied and backstabbed to get here and has been found out. And he'll probably be replaced by Gove!

sally067 · 22/12/2020 23:16

Most PM's in recent memory have been sociopaths or narcissists, or at least sit somewhere on the Cluster B spectrum.

Unfortunately a large portion of British society actually view many of the personality traits with that type of personality disorder as a positive. Probably comes from jingoism, empire nostalgia, the class system and preference towards authoritarianism.

FPTP as an electoral system doesn't help either.

Until these things change we are pretty unlikely to get a PM or government based on compassion and/or the countries best interest like they do in New Zealand or Germany.

ilovesooty · 22/12/2020 23:28

@Leafylife

Who would want to be in his shoes?

It's not like he was dragged kicking and screaming into Number 10 is it? He got there by being more Machiavellian than Gove. It's not a poisoned chalice that some poor honourable soul is forced to accept. Most PMs get there by ruthless ambition, and no doubt thoroughly enjoy their time in power, while knowing there are at least half a dozen colleagues waiting to stab them in the back and step into those shoes.

I think BJ is the worst PM, mainly because he seems completely unashamed of being a lazy, lying, self-serving opportunist. We've had others who have made terrible decisions, lacked leadership skills or been misguided in what they thought was right. But I think PMs generally believe they are doing what is best for the country, even when what they are doing might seem jaw-droppingly wrong. BJ stands out for me because he doesn't seem to have a moral compass or to care about the future of the country.

Absolutely. I agree. To me he's the worst as he's the only PM with no ideology and no moral compass whatever.
PeriPeriMenosauce · 23/12/2020 02:59

The alternative to Boris was Jezza. Much happier to have Boris.

Snog · 23/12/2020 03:18

He is a simply dreadful PM. I know a lot of BoJo voters who recoil in horror at the reality of his premiership.

tobee · 23/12/2020 04:06

I wish he'd stop fucking over promising for a kick off.

And then there's the rest!

MrsMiaWallis · 23/12/2020 06:39

@PeriPeriMenosauce

The alternative to Boris was Jezza. Much happier to have Boris.
Yes. This. It's all very well Labour supporters saying we shouldn't blame JC but he was a bloody disaster for Labour, the worst opposition leader I can remember. That was hugely significant, whether his fan bois want to face up to that or not. I was angry at what he did to this country and the Labour party.
looseddaughter · 23/12/2020 06:43

@PeriPeriMenosauce

The alternative to Boris was Jezza. Much happier to have Boris.
Oh my, this comment is up there with 'he's doing his best' for empty, pointless crap to spout out. What exactly do you think 'Jezza' would have done in this situation that would have been so very much worse than what Johnson has done? I'm no fan of Corbyn's and very happy that he has been replaced by Starmer, but I fail to see how anyone, including him, could have done a worse job, and I think he had some qualities that would definitely have seen him make a better job of it than Johnson has. Actually giving a shit for example.
luckylavender · 23/12/2020 07:10

@MummyMayo1988 - have you been following the news? If so you'll have seen the billions this Tory government has thrown at their friends during this crisis. Billions & billions of our money wasted. Makes Labour spending look like pocket money.

MrsMiaWallis · 23/12/2020 07:37

Jeremy Corbyn would have been absolutely dire during this pandemic. Keir Starmer has been a fucking massive disappointment so far.