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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Doyou care about Boris Johnson's constant lying?

999 replies

Kendodd · 28/04/2021 07:24

My theory is that voters don't care.

OP posts:
WindyPudding · 30/04/2021 11:54

It's funny how other parties fret about being "of the people" and being in touch with reality etc. (Not that that means they necessarily are, but they appear to think it matter.)

But Tories can be upper class, out of touch, stinking rich and involved in dodgy dealings and a whole lot of people don't actually mind. It's as if at some deep level a lot of people accept rich posh people as their natural overlords and just expect them to be like that.

KeflavikAirport · 30/04/2021 11:55

As for £30,000 for redecoration - okay I didn't realise that

That is hardly a secret. It's been mentioned all over the place. Not knowing it does rather tend to suggest you don't have much of a clue.

Peregrina · 30/04/2021 12:06

I personally don't have a problem with the taxpayer paying for fixtures and fittings. Properties do need maintenance, they do need upgrades of bathrooms, kitchens, having the wiring checked etc. But I can't see why those should be the business of whoever happens to be PM at the time. It ought to be possible for the Govt estate to attend to those items. So it might not be to the PM's girlfriend's taste. Tough. How many people have to live in rented accommodation and have to tolerate whatever the landlord provides? They then have to personalise things as best they can. Johnson already has his own home which he will decamp to when the Tory party boot him out, plus Chequers - which I gather he doesn't have a hand in the renovations of.

KeflavikAirport · 30/04/2021 12:07

absolutely.

zafferana · 30/04/2021 12:15

@KeflavikAirport

As for £30,000 for redecoration - okay I didn't realise that

That is hardly a secret. It's been mentioned all over the place. Not knowing it does rather tend to suggest you don't have much of a clue.

Perhaps - or it could just be that I don't care - like I said up-thread.
zafferana · 30/04/2021 12:20

@WindyPudding are you honestly saying that if you moved into a new place that you wouldn't want to redecorate? To even paint the walls or the kitchen cabinets? I wouldn't want to live with someone else's decor unless it was exactly my taste I couldn't think of any way to improve it and I think it's ridiculous to suggest that our PM shouldn't be able to do this. So what if it was done in 2016! So was the White House, but would you want to live with Donald Trump's decor???

Bearnecessity · 30/04/2021 12:21

@WindyPudding

It's funny how other parties fret about being "of the people" and being in touch with reality etc. (Not that that means they necessarily are, but they appear to think it matter.)

But Tories can be upper class, out of touch, stinking rich and involved in dodgy dealings and a whole lot of people don't actually mind. It's as if at some deep level a lot of people accept rich posh people as their natural overlords and just expect them to be like that.

Just wow.....

If anyone wants to know why the tories will continue to win just read this....

This pre-historic,cliched portrayal of the Tory voter is so far removed from the reality and the refusal to accept that the people who are voting Tory are ordinary, every day people with intelligence and free-will.

I know Labourites, it is absolutely terrifying, isn't it.

Kendodd · 30/04/2021 12:28

With regard the YouGov polling about how much England loves Johnson and the Tories, I'm quite confident that even if Johnson was charged and convicted with a criminal offence over his donors money it wouldn't make a single dent in his popularity. Trump was spot on with his shooting somebody on 5th Avenue comment.

OP posts:
Jamestheleast · 30/04/2021 12:32

But Tories can be upper class, out of touch, stinking rich and involved in dodgy dealings and a whole lot of people don't actually mind. It's as if at some deep level a lot of people accept rich posh people as their natural overlords and just expect them to be like that.

Sounds like some retired teacher in a corduroy jacket (shapeless) standing to admire the Karl Marx statue in Highgate.

A monument to early success and then a long drawn out failure

mustlovegin · 30/04/2021 12:35

Trump was spot

Trump again? I despair!

Notonthestairs · 30/04/2021 12:36

They redecorate how they like provided they aren't paying with it with undisclosed sums sums from donors - and the presumably owing that donor a favour.

He paid for it when he was caught out.

But I agree it can seem low level lying in comparison with lies to Parliament etc.

What is so unreasonable in expecting the leader of the country from any party to display honesty and integrity?

SeaWitchly · 30/04/2021 12:40

I care. And cannot still believe anyone with any decency or morals voted for him [or the Tories] in the first place.

WindyPudding · 30/04/2021 12:46

Jesus I don't mean I agree with it or it's a good thing or how it ought to be! Nor am I a marxist and certainly not a corbynist. Nor do I think people don't have free will, of course they do. They choose to vote for people who they can see are out of touch with them, corrupt and dishonest. I am pondering why that actually does not matter at all to a great many people, when those candidates are rich tories.

I don't know if it is the case that people have some kind of tolerance for rich upper class leaders, I think it's a possibility on a sociological level. I said " It's as if" - that that is how it looks.

Class hierarchy, feudal systems, ingrained inequality, inherited power and acceptance of allocated roles have a much longer history than democracy and socialism. That is not to say they are a good approach, just that maybe there is something in the nature of human society that accepts it.

After all people idolise rich footballers, pop stars and royals without minding unfairness. My point is that unfairness, dishonesty, being rich and out of touch etc is not the problem for politicians, that some politicians seem to think it is.

You might not like it but if that's not the case, why is it that people don't mind? I'm not adhering to a view, I'm just wondering what's behind this obvious phenomenon.

WindyPudding · 30/04/2021 12:48

@WindyPudding are you honestly saying that if you moved into a new place that you wouldn't want to redecorate? To even paint the walls or the kitchen cabinets? I wouldn't want to live with someone else's decor unless it was exactly my taste I couldn't think of any way to improve it and I think it's ridiculous to suggest that our PM shouldn't be able to do this. So what if it was done in 2016! So was the White House, but would you want to live with Donald Trump's decor???

I would definitely want to decorate if I owned it, it was my only home and I knew I'd be there a long time.
And no I wouldn't want to live with Donald Trump's decor, but if they didn't always totally redo these places, they wouldn't have to keep redoing them would they.
Every revamp looks gopping anyway.

Peregrina · 30/04/2021 12:51

are you honestly saying that if you moved into a new place that you wouldn't want to redecorate?

It's one thing if you own a place - quite another if you can be kicked out at short notice.

When the Camerons moved into the flat in No 11, it hadn't been touched for decades, so it did need updating - and as a listed building owned by the Government, it was quite right that the taxpayer footed the bill. But that should still be done to a budget, and there is no reason why it should have been done to Samantha Cameron's taste.

Maybe when the present spendthrifts are booted out of Downing Street, the matter of who has a say in the refurbishments can be looked at properly. How often are they done and to what cost? What is legitimate expenditure?

Peregrina · 30/04/2021 12:57

I can sort of understand why some middle aged men might like Johnson and vote for him. He's an untidy overweight scruff but manages to pull the women, and gets away with lying. They, having the same sort of physique, wish that they had his luck.

But why in heaven do women vote for him? Why are some of them hanging onto every word he says, as though he's some sort of Messiah?

mustlovegin · 30/04/2021 13:19

people have some kind of tolerance for rich upper class leaders

Why would you not tolerate someone who is rich?

What makes a non-rich person inherently decent?

I don't understand

WindyPudding · 30/04/2021 13:24

No, it's not that there is something inherently wring with being rich and upper class.

It's that when leaders are rich, upper class, and/or Tory, worse behaviour is tolerated from therm (IMO) and people seem to overlook even obvious wrongdoing more.

mustlovegin · 30/04/2021 13:26

he's some sort of Messiah

No one is talking about Messiahs here. But he gets things done. No fear. No apologies. No nonsense. No listening to derailing factions with agendas.

Take Covid vaccines as an example, or Brexit. Set an objective and go for it. That's what we need at the moment. Other leaders could do it too, but we haven't seen many of those lately. Everyone is scared, paralysed, it's embarrassing and frustrating.

Darker · 30/04/2021 13:28

@mustlovegin

he's some sort of Messiah

No one is talking about Messiahs here. But he gets things done. No fear. No apologies. No nonsense. No listening to derailing factions with agendas.

Take Covid vaccines as an example, or Brexit. Set an objective and go for it. That's what we need at the moment. Other leaders could do it too, but we haven't seen many of those lately. Everyone is scared, paralysed, it's embarrassing and frustrating.

If you think Brexit is in any way 'done' you are astonishingly naive. The issues over trade and borders will rumble on for decades.
hazandduck · 30/04/2021 13:28

I didn’t and wouldn’t vote for him. However does anyone else think all these scandals are coming out now so he can resign whilst looking like he was pushed out? I wouldn’t want his job. I think it turned out a little tougher than he expected with the little matter of a pandemic popping up and he’s probably secretly desperate to quit!

mustlovegin · 30/04/2021 13:37

And I'm not only talking about the UK here.

See Australia or New Zealand as examples also. Time will tell if the approach they are taking is the right one. But they ascertained what they think should be done and they are doing it. No hesitation. Decisiveness.

I don't care if it's a Big Man as someone said upthread or a little man or a woman. Whoever. Just get things done

mustlovegin · 30/04/2021 13:39

he’s probably secretly desperate to quit

I don't get these vibes at all.

IsThisJustLife · 30/04/2021 13:46

You are so absolutely deluded if you think Left=decent Right=sleaze

I think many politicians on all sides = decent, eg Dominic Grieve, Ken Clarke, Caroline Lucas, Andy Street, Andy Burnham. Doesn't mean I agree with all their political views.

Sleaze at this level pretty much = Johnson

Not that I'm that impressed by most of the current cabinet - or by the MPs who voted to put Johnson in his current position.

Darker · 30/04/2021 13:48

Boris strikes me as someone who wants to be properly rich, which he isn't at the moment. Not like Rishi is rich. Or JRM. Or Cameron.

He may very well want to get on with this project rather than being blamed for people dying and the disaster that is Brexit.