Reply With QuoteWas he due to take the briefing then ?Originally Posted by The Lone Gunman
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Given the circumstances, I was going to say it's incredible that Boris Johnson didn't have the courage to face the press today and instead pushed Grant Schapps into the firing line, but let's be honest - it wasn't incredible at all. Considering his track record, it was exactly what you would have expected Johnson to do. Can anyone think of another Prime Minister in our recent history who would have been gutless enough to have done something similar?
Regardless of which side of the political spectrum you're on, I think you have to concede that Johnson is comfortably the most spineless leader this country has had during our lifetimes.
Was he due to take the briefing then ?
I've no idea, but given the fact he knew that both his conduct and that of his most senior advisor were going to be under intense scrutiny, it's no surprise that he was in hiding.
Seems to me each of the different national leaders to a greater or lesser extent has placed party and politics at the fore front of their decision making whereas what we really needed is someone, who in these dark times, strives to place the needs of the people first.
In my opinion What Johnson has clearly shown us is that he is no leader. No doubt as usual others may disagree.
He has a track record of not turning up for meetings or turning up late, unprepared. Where he can, he let's others take the flak and avoids having to explain clearly, being the wafflemeister supreme. I'm surprised he turns up for PMQs. If that is "spineless" behaviour, all I can do is agree.
It's fair to say I wasn't a fan of David Cameron or Theresa May, but I'm confident that both of them would have had the backbone to face the media and the public today under similar circumstances.
Without doubt.
His record is out there. It’s one of lying and laziness. He is a pathetic individual with a fake persona which the vast majority lap up by going along with the call me “Boris” bullshit.
Johnson is finally being found out although many will still shrug their shoulders and back him.
Spineless? You bet.
Cameron was pretty spineless but johnson takes the sandwich
I agree, but signs of a shift?
https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics...nment-approval
But you have no idea where Johnson was or what he was doing. There are undoubtedly many more important things he can or should be doing than talking about one of his advisers conduct. Grant Shapps made some quite important announcements about transport policy, which is presumably why he took the briefing but no one was remotely interested in that and what he said was submerged by the political point scoring and oneupmanship feeding frenzy that took place from the media. Come on, surely we have got more important things to worry about than this ?
He is the worst PM ever no guts but a lot of bluff.
I can understand your concern. After all, the way things are going you'll to have to take down your poster of Boris and put up a blank sheet of paper instead.
No, I think he only does one day a week. Which wouldn't have been today. Had he come out today, it would have been seen as some sort of concession, that he viewed Cummings' antics as more serious than he claimed they were. Saying that, Trump does the briefings daily in the US, and I think we should be seeing more of Johnson personally.
He has a reputation for being a part-time politician even before this, with staff told to keep memos and briefings down to a page or two. He's completely unaware as to how this looks to Joe Public, especially as every day the news is we have hundreds more dead, thousands more testing positive, 100,000 targets rarely being met (and only being met when the figures are fudged).
His approval rating has dipped into negative territory, though I am sure he'll be along on Monday to remind us how much he values foreign NHS workers, like the ones who saved his life (I find it disgusting how he used that for political capital - my own father has been in ICU on 4 occasions, each time there was an army of nurses and doctors caring for him, but that was before the NHS was butt-****ed into a corpse by a succession of Labour and Tory Governments). "I think I mentioned I had covid-19 once, but think I got away with it".
So, in regards to the opening question, yes he is completely the most spineless, clueless, rudderless leader I have ever known. He has knocked Brown into a cocked hat. He has even made May look good, and has made Cameron look industrious in comparison.
Thatcher
Major
Blair
Brown
Cameron
May
Each one would have handled this better than Part Time Johnson. Would Corbyn have done better, I don't really think so but, frankly, I can't see how he would have done any worse. FIFTEEN THOUSAND deaths in care homes, you know, those places that were forced to take in patients who were displaying symptoms, or who were awaiting test results.
Funnily enough the House of Commons, virtual or not is where you present government policy on transport. Not a daily briefing supposedly about Coronavirus which is now moving from an opportunity to give the nation important guidance and information about how to manage their lives and more an opportunity for the government to get their message out about a range of things that have nothing or little to do with the virus because they have spotted a captive audience.
What about Neville Chamberlain?
I was born in the Sixties.
good point, well made lmao
History revision has been unkind on Chamberlain. When he returned with "that piece of paper" in his hands, the populace were largely supportive with many having lived through the horrors of WW1 and the depression that followed it.What about Neville Chamberlain?
The man has had a near death experience and allowances need to be made for that, but, as TLG says, the problem is that Boris Johnson was like he is now before he got ill. The man who hid in a fridge to avoid the media during the election campaign has previous - he loves it when things are going well, but he was never going to be the man for a crisis like this.
Not only a captive audience, but a media that is asking questions over Skype. They then answer the question they want to answer, rather than the one asked and onto the next journalist. It really should be a "Party Political Broadcast by the Manslaughter of thousands Party".
He also cancelled a speech in Rochester on Police advice. Kuenssberg tweeted just that - "PM cancels speech on police advice".
What actually happened was that there were 4-5 protesters there, and Johnson chickened out. Some say he is a "nice guy" and "avoids confrontation". Remember a large part of the early days of this virus saw him handling a divorce with his wife, who was suffering from cancer I believe, whilst trying to make his pregnant girlfriend his fiance to make it more palatable to the silver voters.
Most spineless PM in living memory? Absolutely. Most spineless in the last 100 years, it's difficult to think of any worse.
My history isnt that great.
Who were the ones over 100 years ago that were more spineless?
Come on.
In the circumstances he's doing the"best"he can.
The circumstances being he's a lying useless tosspot.
I get the feeling Johnson could do absolutely anything, and you’d defend him to the hilt.
When he came to power, although i’ve never voted Tory in my life, i thought to myself, ok, lets see what he can do.
In such a short space of time, he's proved to be Very poor, and inadequate for the job he's paid to do.
In all walks of life, the buck stops at the top. Unless he was ill, he should have fronted the situation today.
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