Keir Starmer's popularity ratings now higher than Boris Johnson's

[effingterrified]

Shame we don't have an election for ages.

But great to finally have some opposition to this government again, particularly as UK deaths overtake every other country in the world apart from the Us, that has a population 5 times as big.

Here's the poll I referred to in the OP, by the way:

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/keir-starmer-boris-johnson-approval-rating-yougov-opinion-poll-survey-a9511611.html

The latest YouGov survey shows the leader of the opposition has a net approval rating of +23, while the prime minister has seen his net approval fall to +22.

I think Keir is being fair, he just needs to stay on point.

I think Keir will be as good as the team around him. He is definitely a move away from the cult of the charasmatic leader and leads by consensus. I have no idea what his policies would be and I don't think we will know for a very long time. We need to see what his plan will be. Will be reading the manifesto v carefully.

And people saying KS is appalling for playing politics - what?! Johnson lied in parliament today- or like it says in the Crace article, just didn't know what his own government had advised a few weeks ago. Then he sent that dishonest letter. They've stopped showing the graphs that show the awful truth about how the virus is taking hold in this country at their briefings. They are absolutely playing politics on this and if the Lop didn't call them on it it would be a dereliction of duty.

I like Keir and I like Rishi.... because both are clear communicators and seem fundamentally quite nice. Whereas Bojo seems a poor leader - he’s a poor communicator, seems to be using other ministers as fall-guys, is cocky and his life experience has been as narrow as his social circles. He doesn’t seem to have much empathy in public or private life, being PM seemed like it was a lark for him (until this happened obv)

UK politics is based on personality not policies.

Time will tell, but an experienced barrister like Starmer should do very well facing a charlaton and a buffoon. We shall see.

Charlatan.

He's really showing these clowns up. Got my vote!

Time will tell, but an experienced barrister like Starmer should do very well facing a charlaton and a buffoon. We shall see

I think it's important to see what lessons are learnt from this crisis - and what kind of society we become.

Lots of things that maybe some people didn't realise are important have become important. Maybe people's values will change - and by that, I mean general attitudes towards the lower paid, the less well off etc.

Rishie Sunak will be a future PM.

I think there's a world of difference between 'playing politics' and 'holding the government to account'. The whole point of the opposition is to make sure the government's actions are examined and that they can't just do whatever the hell they like. Starmer is doing his job by asking probing questions in PMQs. He is doing what he is meant to do.

If he was dancing about at the front bench, shouting at the top of his voice and spewing hyperbolic emotive metaphors, I'd have a problem. He isn't. He is asking questions and pointing out discrepancies in what the government is saying now vs what they did say last week / last month.

BJ will have had an extended honeymoon period after his illness. But the longer this goes on for, the more annoyed people will get and the more his popularity will wane. Any leader would struggle in a national emergency that doesn't have an identifiable "enemy" at whom they can point the finger and channel the electorate's anger towards. And Boris is a below average leader.

chomalungma

I read here with despair about how our teachers are treated, they should be top of the pile but they are not. It is disgraceful. Echoing your point about what is important.

That is just one thing. There are many others.

KS is new and has not done anything to upset people yet so of course he is more popular. Similarly, everyone raves about Rishi Sunak as he announces his weekly multi billion pound spending plan that our poor kids will be repaying in tax for the rest of their lives. But personally I would rather have the more experienced and practical Sajid Javid in charge.

Can't see the appeal of Rishi, other than that he's not Boris.

Keir is fab though.

Can't see the appeal of Rishi, other than that he's not Boris.

Isn't that enough??

Also he keeps giving out money.

I agree that KS needs to hold the govt to account, but I'd like to see KS actually coming up with his own ideas instead of just criticising the govt. I'd respect him more.

gree that KS needs to hold the govt to account, but I'd like to see KS actually coming up with his own ideas instead of just criticising the govt

Johnson is not great at this PM business and he knows it.

He had a pass due to to his illness and new baby. But sadly IMO he is not PM material.

God love her but Theresa May tried her best, but the present incumbent is for the birds imo.

I was about to put that link on .

Realistically he can't stand on the sidelines saying 'You don't want to do that...' and PMQs is obviously there for him to ask questions - the clue is in the name. We don't have a coalition government and the Tories are not going to consult with him constructively.

I think he sets out very clearly in his address what can be achieved by asking the right questions and if it doesn't force the Tories to raise their game (this might be them at their best) then at least no one can accuse him of having gone along with their approach. I also heard him on LBC refusing to demand a Brexit extension. As an ardent remainer I was pleased with his approach, which is obviously to force the Tories to own their shit and not be accused of 'blocking Brexit.' He clearly knows what he's doing.

The time for him to lay out his plans for the future will come, but it would be an unwelcome distraction now.

Rishi is doing well considering but I agree with a PP that I'd rather see Sajid Javid in the job.

He is popular now but I think in a couple of years time when we have Austerity II Dishy Rishi will be a massive fall guy and people will soon forget he did what was needed at the time, and will only remember the huge bill it has left the country with. (In the same way that people are retrospectively furious that we bailed out the banks in 2007/8). I expect Gove the Toad is counting on this fact.

Gove stands no chance, he's a man of no integrity, zero policies, and entirely unlikeable. It's Boris who is going to make Rishi a fall guy because he knows he's far more popular and eloquent than him, and therefore a real danger to him maintaining his position.

I don't think Boris much wants to maintain his position atm and will be looking for a face- saving get out.

Sunak has been in frontline politics for 5 minutes and has done the easy part of one thing. He got the job because he would be willing to be a yes man. Yes he speaks well but I don't see much that prime ministerial about him.

I think Boris would be delighted to be off the hook now cause the whola coronavirus crisis is something he doesn't want to deal with and doesn't know how to handle. But I think he will still want to be a PM after it passes - he loves titles and power. Having said that, it's an interesting point, as if he stays he'll go down in history as a PM with poor judgement whose series of grave mistakes made our lives a bigger misery to what it could/should have been. Not the glory he was hoping for.

Keir Starmer may turn out to be a good leader ( I certainly hope so as it would be nice to have a Labour Party again) but his popularity probably rests now on never having made an unpopular decision.

Put him in charge and I promise you that people will be screaming at him and at those who voted for him. He should hope to not get in unto Boris Johnson has done all the hard stuff.

effingterrified being involved in the beating up of a journalist? You should at least have kept reading until you got to the part where it didn't happen.