This prime minister. I despair.

[Richtea15]

I’m young. I don’t have a comprehensive understanding of the nitty gritty of politics. However, I can see broad and clear that Boris Johnson cannot lead a country. He is not transparent in anything he says. He avoided answering that journalist about the ventilator “joke”. He’s so fucking wishy washy. He just shakes his head and acts like the public’s questions are a pesky inconvenience.

Sorry. I’m absolutely despairing.

You see frantic backtracking, I see changing strategy in accordance with revised predictions...........

I think now is as best time as ever to give him a break. I am just so glad I'm not in his position.

There has always been help for renters, it's called universal credit or housing benefit. Mortgage payments cannot be claimed and that's why there are specific measures for mortgage payers.
I was impressed by this afternoon's measures. People posting about what a shambles it all is should at least have watched the briefing before jumping on the Boris bashing band wagon. We should be celebrating good news not trying to wind people up

I would like to see anyone complaining doing any better, the amount of stress and pressure must be absolutely ridiculous. He made a joke- here's a spoiler, people working in dire circumstances make jokes about a lot of inappropriate things to cope. It doesn't make it right, but you'd be surprised how much you need dark humour to get you through sometimes. Anyone any better suggestions on how he should be dealing with an absolutely unprecendented pandemic, which has gone from being on the radar a few months ago to affecting the country more so than at any other time of peace? Anyone?

I'm not a Boris fan either, but jeez. Absolutely ridiculous.

So you didn’t even watch it the press conference? I suggest you do.

I was appalled by the journalists ‘question’ which was goady and completely unnecessary. Am glad he didn’t even give it a second.
I honestly despair at people during this time. We are in the midst of an unprecedented event. He is the face of a team of people who are making these decisions minute by minute.
Makes me sad that we cannot support them and work together rather than people using it to push forward their political opinions.
Like him or not we need to stop criticising. I for one feel more reassured by the daily news updates.

I'm disgusted at how slow acting this government has been. Entirely too reactive and not proactive enough.

We should have been preparing for this as soon as it started hitting other countries.

I would recommend he react more like the Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau. His main concern is about keeping Canadians safe, and following the recommendations of scientific advisors.

I think he's doing well, a calm and measured response.

I just don’t understand how other countries are managing to cope by instilling these “draconian” measures, yet we can’t.

I made loads of jokes about it last night in my class as did the participants, no one raised an eyelid, sometimes it's a way of coping with truly dreadful situations. I'm sure Johnson just did the same and he was exasperated as I was when I heard the questions that journalists wanted to score cheap points against him during a very serious press conference.

would recommend he react more like the Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau. His main concern is about keeping Canadians safe, and following the recommendations of scientific advisors.

Economics is important. We can't simply copy Canada. How would you suggest this were to happen?

He's not the PM I voted for and I have spent many an hour slagging him off but I have no complaints about the government's handling of the virus outbreak so far.

I think Corbyn would have effed this up royally by now and Teresa May would still be dithering about something or other without actually getting anything done.

This is the kind of problem that no PM would ever be ready for.

Corbyn wouldn't have been a disaster in some people's perception, he would probably been great giving everyone what they wanted but at the detriment of the economy.

I just don’t understand how other countries are managing to cope by instilling these “draconian” measures, yet we can’t.

And that's the problem OP. You are taking a simplistic view. Just because you personally don't understand it doesn't make it wrong.

@Richtea15 because countries are all different. China has a vast amount of control over its people, both through surveillance and tech and cultural norm. The slowly approach here is much more likely to be successful.

Sorry ignore the picture, I have no idea how I managed that

And you really can't believe anything a communist government publicise, they have such control over every aspect of life, people go missing for having opposing political views, they control what you can and can't see on the web and what news people are privy to. They put out there what makes them look good, how they are coping, FFS they left it a bloody long time before telling the rest of the world this frightful virus was out there.

Anyone who doesn't understand this has a very very small understanding of how politics works.

I wasn’t talking about China, I was talking about Canada.

And no, I don’t fully understand how politics work. I made that clear in my first post.

I’m merely exasperated, and despairing. Feeling little reassurance from our prime minister at this time.

I think he is doing a good job actually. I think a gradual shut down as is happening is the best way to do it, both practically and psychologically, and will hopefully work to slow the spread between healthier people whilst also protecting the vulnerable.

I think places like Ireland did an immediate shut down too early and too quickly. Apparently over there, there is a bit of a feeling amongst some people that it will be a couple of weeks of disruption and then things will start getting back to normal... This really is only beginning.

I actually don’t understand how anyone can say he’s acting competently.
Last week he could have lead by example with Nadine Dorries , but he didn’t.
He’s been dithering about like a headless chicken, government advice has been contradictory and coming in dribs and drabs . He’s offering nothing for small businesses, Arts , leisure industry. I despair