Westministenders: A Year of Johnson

[RedToothBrush]

So having given the benefit of the doubt...

... whats your reflections?

Good (and yes do have some thoughts on the positive - challenge yourself on this one as its important) and the bad (and yes this is the easy bit but keep it within reason)?

"started" probably means "started to collect data and information in order to decide where they will go". (or "started asking which of my mates fancy the contract")

pmk and thanks to all contributors

.

I've got one, well, a bit of one!
The no junk food advertising before 9pm. I won't bother to link to an article because it's just that. Not much of an "anti-obesity" hit if you ask me - I'd rather they made healthy options actually healthy via food standards and regulate them, so you don't just get conned by a fancy box but seeing as that is pretty much the Tory party summed up I don't have great hopes. I also heard some smooth talking twit on R2 yesterday banging on about how this is what will only mean higher costs for the consumer Another spin to keep an eye on.

With all the corn syrup and lack of labelling that will be the outcome of trade talks with the US, we're going to need the anti-obesity campaign, so it's just pre-emptive

Good: managed to pull ds out of school a week early with a temperature. but everyone else should have been out then anyway looking at BCF's graph posts)

Possibly pulling Chinese equipment out of telecoms?

Didn't they get through a DV bill?

Furlough payments etc.

Bad: prorogued Parliament
DC is running the show.
Got rid of moderates
Choose people for ideals not competency.
Withdrew whip from intelligence committee chair.
Covid dither and delay
Care home deaths.
PPE
NI
Not to be trusted internationally to keep deals (WA)

Ok, really trying here as I detest the man.

• There's talk of a green revolution. In practice, that's a bit more money going towards cycle lanes, e-scooters are soon to be licenced and new ICEs will stop bring sold by 2035. Low Emission Zones are going ahead. I believe there's also homeowner grants for gas boiler upgrades.
• Credit where it's due, we did eventually lock down and mitigate some of the economic side-effects with furlough. We also got most of the homeless street population into shelter and arranged for extra hospital capacity. America and Brazil continue to lead the world in not giving a fig for effective governance. Johnson, at least, makes the attempt.
• For better and for worse, he is forcing the Brexit issue, well and truly owning it.
• PMQs has become my televised bloodsport.
• Cummings is single-handedly taking on the Civil Service. It's policy wonk equivalent of purgatory. Whatever he achieves won't feel as satisfyingly as he hoped, nor the effort required to achieve it in the first place. It's fitting place for a rule-breaker.

Thanks,red

He specifically claims that we have started work on 40 new hospitals [and] upgrades on 20 more

The problem is if he repeats it often enough, backed up by the right wing press, people will believe it. OK they might say, well, it's not given us a new hospital locally, but they must exist because Johnson said so.

iirc, it was under May that the DV bill was started - I'm not sure BJ has shown much interest in protecting - or even respecting - women & children.

BJ's main accomplishment is that he is not Corbyn - one reason so many former Labour voters switched to Tory last GE.
If BJ had defeated a normal Labour leader, imo there would have been far more buyer's remorse over the last 3 months.

When dimwit Corbyn finally stops being a sore loser, stops trying to reignite the toxic anti-semitism isssue
and steps right away from the limelight (may be some kicking & screaming involved)
Labour should be able to hit BJ much more effectively.

I know Peregrina

That's why we need and deserve real journalists and a functioning media to investigate, challenge and publish/broadcast the accuracy of such claims.

But we don't have that - and combined with a politically disengaged populace who choose to read just headlines and to believe twisted lies distortions, we (or rather England) are doomed

At least we are doomed with gin.
Silver linings and all that.

I'm feeling wonderfully positive today
SWIMMING was excellent

A Positive thought;
Boris is not Corbyn.

A Negative thought;
Unfortunately, he is still Boris though.

I know it's not in the spirit of positivity but I can't agree that "at least he did eventually lock down". Personally I think the country was doing it without him; people taking kids out of school, businesses making workforce work from home and a public outcry - graffiti here stands as testimony that people were screaming "LOCKDOWN NOW BORIS!"

If he hadn't followed it through there could have been a worse backlash as people panicked and there would have been chaos. We saw what happened with the stockpiling. It wasn't something he planned or wanted to do, but was forced to do. The figure bodging reaffirms this along with the distinct lack of attempting to control with track and trace.

Saw this and was amused (apologies to DGR )

On the positive side, it is good to have a PM with genuine, sincerely held libertarian principles. Johnson very obviously agonised about taking away our freedoms by imposing lockdown ; so much so that he delayed too long. He made the wrong decision, but for the right reasons.

On the negative side, just about everything else. We know the government has made serious mistakes in its hands of the pandemic but that is far from the only thing it has got badly wrong.

It is now clear that Brexit is a disaster of historic proportions for the U.K. and for Europe. We have turned our back on our friends at a time when the world is polarising, a new Cold War between the West and China is inevitable and we need allies more than at any other time since the end of the last one.

Johnson very obviously agonised about taking away our freedoms by imposing lockdown

Johnson has no principles. He dithered and delayed over lockdown because he wanted to make sure that the populace was in favour and avoid a backlash.

@prettybird

Saw this and was amused (apologies to DGR )

No need for apologies ... it's kinda how I've lived my life

The DGR mask report from Sainsburys is apparent 100% compliance for what it's worth.

I think it was Heseltine who said of BJ, "He waits to see which way the crowd is going and then darts ahead, proclaiming 'Follow me' "

Whoever it was knew him well

It applies to both Brexit and to how he dealt or not with Covid. It is a strategy that suits perfectly a lazy fucker who wants to be popular

On the positive side, it is good to have a PM with genuine, sincerely held libertarian principles.

Bollocks he has. The only principle Boris Johnson has is Boris Johnson. All else is fwiff fwaff.

Found the quote from Heseltine

https://www.itv.com/goodmorningbritain/articles/lord-heseltine-says-boris-waits-to-see-the-way-the-crowd-is-running-then-dashes-in-front

prettybird agree, Heseltine had it spot on.

I find it hard to agree that furlough was a good idea. If we'd locked down earlier, the scale of it would have been unnecessary. The timing of lockdown was entirely Johnson's decision - he didn't 'follow the science' early enough.

It's a bit like having someone drive over your foot then praising and rewarding them for taking you to hospital.

If nothing else, the fulsome apologies from various quarters of the press and society apologising for their hysteria over burkhas and niqabs and insisting that covering your face is somehow Muslimically insulting to the British way of racism has been good to hear.

After all, a press that can't apologise is really just tomorrows toilet paper, isn't it ?

PMK
Trying to think of positives, it is challenging - good question. Maybe Tories having to own Brexit? Or people will realise that governing (and being in opposition) needs compromise. Look at the outcomes of political purity over the past few years: the worst possible Brexit, inadequate politicians, lack of opposition when it was sorely needed....etc...