To ask WTF (if anything) goes through our PM's head?

[EthelTheAardvark]

Smirking and laughing as Sunak talks about Ukrainian children huddled in basements seeking protection:
twitter.com/AdamBienkov/status/1506614564510654467

He wasn't listening to Sunak. He had no idea what was being said, was too busy with some banter across the way.

Whether it matters Whether the PM is paying attention is another matter, but I'd hope he knew what was going to be said.

Does anyone else think it was a really odd way for Sunak to open his speech?

He should have enough self control to stfu and stop laughing when another person is speaking about something serious. It doesn't matter whether or not he was laughing about children in basements, it's the fact that he didn't get a grip and at least look as though he gives a damn.

@balalake

Please everyone with a vote in elections in May remember to have morals and a conscience and cast your vote for a party other than the Tories.

Harold Shipman caused less harm than Boris Johnson.

this please.

I think Angela Rayner needs to keep her wits about her, Bozo has a glint in his eye when she does PMQs. Don't accept a lift home, Angela.

I used to think that the Slitheens (Doctor Who, Series 1, Episode 4, "Aliens of London") were a rather grotesquely exaggerated caricature of British politicians. Nowadays, the depiction seems eerily accurate (in fact, milder than life)

Who else agrees our current generation of politicians looks and acts like a bunch of greedy aliens hiding within poorly designed skin suits?

When candidates can answer questions clearly I will consider voting for them. When they fudge and prevaricate I will bring my vote elsewhere. I look at the candidates individually and so far nothing they are saying will make me vote Green, Lib Dem or Labour. In fact threads like this where I’m told to shut up and sit down are making me want to vote Tory out of sheer frustration at being dismissed!

He mainly thinks about what will get him elected. I must say I've got a grudging admiration for him. He's got a good understanding of the British people. The problem is that the British people (collectively) are gullible idiots, but you can't hold Johnson responsible for that.

And that tweet is clearly nonsense. He's laughing at something with someone across the aisle before Sunak starts talking about huddling kids, and puts on a sombre face (so far as he has one) as soon as the talk of basements starts.

"Wiff waff, riff raff.... Money.... Eton old school tie.... How can I make myself look good....skirts,skirts.....bwah,fwah..." That's probably what's in his strategically coiffured head.

I know there's a lot of awfulness in the world at present, but Boris Johnson being the best friend women have must be right up there.

but he wasn't.. he was laughing at the previous comment that had just been said, before Rishi moved onto Ukraine.

@BarrowInFurnessRailwayStation

He should have enough self control to stfu and stop laughing when another person is speaking about something serious. It doesn't matter whether or not he was laughing about children in basements, it's the fact that he didn't get a grip and at least look as though he gives a damn.

That's not what happened, though. At the beginning of the excerpt there was a load of cheering and laughing about a previous statement. He had a non verbal exchange with a shadow front bencher. Sunak then started to talk about Ukraine and Johnson recognised that this topic was serious, he did indeed stop laughing and nodded in agreement.

@DetailMouse

I know there's a lot of awfulness in the world at present, but Boris Johnson being the best friend women have must be right up there.

He's consistently voted for austerity. He denies there is an issue with racism in the UK. He referred to Muslim women as letterboxes. And that's without considering his personal conduct.

He is not a friend to women.

He is not a friend to women.

Yes, I realise this but PP seems to be suggested the Conservatives are the only viable option for women voters. The fact that this is awful was my point.

@DetailMouse

He is not a friend to women.

Yes, I realise this but PP seems to be suggested the Conservatives are the only viable option for women voters. The fact that this is awful was my point.

I absolutely can’t get my head round this. Every aspect of Tory policy has greater negative impact on women and children yet women are prepared to vote for them because Johnson makes some throwaway comment he doesn’t mean simply to garner votes. It’s unbelievable that so many apparently intelligent and principled women are falling for it.

He denies there is an issue with racism in the UK

Does he? This is from the iNews, definitely not a Johnson supporting paper, in April 2021.
The Prime Minister said were still “very serious issues” around racism in the UK that “we need to address”, adding more needed to be done to “fix the problem”.

@FeckTheMagicDragon

It’s a pity the Tory party are the only ones who understand biology and what a woman is, Labour have done so badly because they lost sight of what they are for - supporting ALL working class people. They even lost the Socialist Republic of South Yorkshire FFS! I’m politically homeless until they get their act together.

This. It’s a source of equal relief and distress to me that there is a party willing to stand up for women, but that it is the Tories.

@Nightlystroll

The man's an idiot but he wasn't smirking at Sunak talking about Ukranian children. He was obviously in a non-verbal exchange with someone on the shadow front bench over the previous subject. Sunak then started to talk about the Ukranian children and it took Johnson a couple of seconds to take on board the new topic and he then nodded in support of what RS was saying. He never laughed at people suffering or dying.

Exactly this He is not laughing about people caught up in war. I don’t like the guy but this is a ridiculous stretch.

I agree it wasn't about the Ukrainian children, but its air of naughty boy messing about at the back of the classroom is surely not what we want from a PM.

I agree it wasn't about the Ukrainian children, but its air of naughty boy messing about at the back of the classroom is surely not what we want from a PM.

this

And it took him long enough to stop laughing and smirking.

@DetailMouse

I agree it wasn't about the Ukrainian children, but its air of naughty boy messing about at the back of the classroom is surely not what we want from a PM.

Have you never watched how the HofC works? It's an adversarial system. You might not like that but it's how they are all used to it working. So they engage with verbally and non-verbally with the opposition. You see both sides pointing at each and criticising and laughing. It's high octane, loud and unpredictable with everyone squished up next to each other. Compare it with how the Scottish parliament. Its laid out in a semi circle, no eye contact with anyone opposite; everyone has a separate desk. It's a staid boring affair. It's two completely different styles and the behaviour in each place is different too. It's not like BJ is behaving in a singular way, they all behave like that there, because the set up invites that sort of adversarial, noisy engagement.

@Natfemale

At least he knows what a woman is, and is prepared to say so.

Do explain how that excuses this behaviour? And are you forgetting what an outright misogynist the man is?

@Duracellbunnywannabe

He is like a young child who can’t sit still in assembly and who has to sit next to the teacher so they can remind him to behave.

Sums him up.

Maybe he knows more about the situation and what's happening, vs what the public get told about x situation ?

You think he knows something about the Ukrainian situation which makes it appropriate to pull faces and laugh whilst his Chancellor is talking about Ukrainian children hiding in fear for their lives? And indeed he knows something about that that the Chancellor doesn't know?

OK, I'll buy it, @Hawkins001, tell us what it is that you think he knows. Goodness knows, we'd all like to know something about Ukraine that makes us smile.

@Nightlystroll

The man's an idiot but he wasn't smirking at Sunak talking about Ukranian children. He was obviously in a non-verbal exchange with someone on the shadow front bench over the previous subject. Sunak then started to talk about the Ukranian children and it took Johnson a couple of seconds to take on board the new topic and he then nodded in support of what RS was saying. He never laughed at people suffering or dying.

That doesn't work, given that he's grinning throughout that clip. He had more than enough time to compose himself. Sunak was delivering the budget and making serious comments. Any other Prime Minister would have known how to behave and would have concentrated on what the Chancellor was saying. The simple fact is that Johnson really doesn't care about what Ukrainians are going through and was much more interested in whatever was amusing him.