Boris is back

[enuff_zed]

Just watched his speech outside Number 10.

I'm sure this will turn into a political fracas before too long but I would just like to put my thoughts on here:

Having watched Raab do a fairly 'ok' job without really lighting the world up I feel that old Boris has just shown that there is a difference between a politician and a leader.

Rolls grenade into room and steps back :wink:

 

[clarker63]

You either love him or loathe him.

Once he lives up to his 350 Million pounds per week for the NHS after Brexit, I may start believing...otherwise until that time he's a lying toffy nosed buffoon. IMHO.

Rolls the grenade back, removing the pin this time

 

[buzyg]

You either love him or loathe him.

Once he lives up to his 350 Million pounds per week for the NHS after Brexit, I may start believing...otherwise until that time he's a lying toffy nosed buffoon. IMHO.

Rolls the grenade back, removing the pin this time

Oh the pinnies are out now.

 

[TitanTim]

You don't become prime minister if you're a baffoon, he's not long being out of intensive care :roll:

I like him, never thought I'd say that when he was mayor but he's charismatic compared to Theresa May, the type of Prime Minister the country probably needs right now.

Tim.

 

[clarker63]

Oh the pinnies are out now.

is that a "pinnies" in the apron sense, or a grenade sense... (both work equally well!)

 

[Tinker15]

You either love him or loathe him.

Once he lives up to his 350 Million pounds per week for the NHS after Brexit, I may start believing...otherwise until that time he's a lying toffy nosed buffoon. IMHO.

Rolls the grenade back, removing the pin this time

Well if the alternative was Corbyn and his crew give me the toffee nosed one any time. Fortunately the electorate agreed with me!

 

[enuff_zed]

You either love him or loathe him.

Well, to be honest it's neither for me.
I very rarely find any respect for any 'politician', and that goes for Boris too, but I do respect what he is achieving as a 'leader', which is what I believe we've been missing the last few weeks. All the same stuff has been happening, but we've had no focal point.

Oh, and I ran away from the grenade as I had inadequate PPE

 

[jabber]

I will give him a chance imho he has done reasonably well in the current crisis I never expected a conservative government do as much as they have so far even allowing for the ppe supply ptoblems. I know there is a call for a route out of the lock down but personally all I want is for my family to survive

 

[clarker63]

all I want is for my family to survive

we're all with you on that one!

 

[Vornwend]

I don't think he is really a buffoon (although he puts on a very good act). I do think he's a calculating chancer whose moral compass throughout his life has pointed in whatever direction he thinks will benefit him the most. I've actually been quite impressed with the stand ins while he was away (except the utterly hopeless Priti Patel).

I watched his statement this morning where he described the lock down as a success but I'm struggling to see how 20,000+ deaths can be called that! Not surprisingly I don't think any other countries will be looking to the UK to see how best to handle Covid 19.

Charismatic and occasionally amusing he may be but he's way too flawed and self centred to be called a great leader imo.

 

[maxman]

I don't think anyone in the NHS or the care sector will think he has done a good job.I am not saying comrade Corbin would have done any better,but at least he would have the excuse that the Labour Party have not been in power for the last 10 yrs.

 

[Smartbear]

I don't think he is really a buffoon (although he puts on a very good act). I do think he's a calculating chancer whose moral compass throughout his life has pointed in whatever direction he thinks will benefit him the most. I've actually been quite impressed with the stand ins while he was away (except the utterly hopeless Priti Patel).

I watched his statement this morning where he described the lock down as a success but I'm struggling to see how 20,000+ deaths can be called that! Not surprisingly I don't think any other countries will be looking to the UK to see how best to handle Covid 19.

Charismatic and occasionally amusing he may be but he's way too flawed and self centred to be called a great leader imo.

It’s been successful keeping the numbers of fatalities down to a level the nhs could cope with, we’d be looking at far higher numbers otherwise and an overrun health service.
Rob

 

[ronk]

Surely it's the experts behind the scenes that are running the show - the politicians are the ones who sell it to the public?

 

[zedwheels]

He thinks he's our modern day Winston Churchill :roll: Hope he will get us through this with the least amount of casualties, and job losses. I wouldn't like to be in his shoes right now.

 

[TitanTim]

My only gripe really is/was the lack of PPE which sounds like its been run down over the years notwithstanding that we were due anytime soon a pandemic, maybe if the gov't had had their eye on the ball in this respect then death rates in care homes and NHS workers themselves might have been lower, who knows.

Tim.

 

[Smartbear]

My only gripe really is/was the lack of PPE which sounds like its been run down over the years notwithstanding that we ere due anytime soon a pandemic, maybe if the gov't had had their eye on the ball in this respect thenm death rates in care homes and NHS workers themselves might have been lower, who knows.

Tim.

I think 90% (or even more) of care homes are privately owned & run, so the government wouldn’t be responsible for their ppe requirements Tim?
Rob

 

[ronk]

The Sunday Times suggested that the Govt had indeed taken its eye off the ball!

Slightly off topic, Ive just been told by a friend - that his pal runs a company in the UK that can manufacture medical PPE - He has tried and tried to get a reply to his offer to produce the kit, but heard nothing! He has the facility, the materials, the people all ready to go.

 

[NickDE]

Too slow to respond to the crisis. Other countries responded faster and have had a much lower death rate, and are coming out of lockdown faster as well.
Totally messed up ventilators and PPE - signing up headline grabbing contracts whilst ignoring the companies who can really deliver.
Testing not living up to the promises.
Any sign of contact tracing ?
I can only think of one country who has handled it worse.

 

[Vornwend]

I don't think he is really a buffoon (although he puts on a very good act). I do think he's a calculating chancer whose moral compass throughout his life has pointed in whatever direction he thinks will benefit him the most. I've actually been quite impressed with the stand ins while he was away (except the utterly hopeless Priti Patel).

I watched his statement this morning where he described the lock down as a success but I'm struggling to see how 20,000+ deaths can be called that! Not surprisingly I don't think any other countries will be looking to the UK to see how best to handle Covid 19.

Charismatic and occasionally amusing he may be but he's way too flawed and self centred to be called a great leader imo.

It’s been successful keeping the numbers of fatalities down to a level the nhs could cope with, we’d be looking at far higher numbers otherwise and an overrun health service.
Rob

Yes to an extent that's true, I accept that, but remember the NHS also had to create additional capacity - the Nightingale hospitals, turning operating theatres into ICU type wards etc. There's a lot of chatter locally to where I live about the decision to go ahead with the Cheltenham Festival - higher death rates in the area which seem like they are connected. I also think London has been hit harder than most of the country and the delay in going to a mandatory lock down has cost many more lives than might have been the case there? In the early days it felt to me like we were unwilling participants in a huge experiment. As the situation developed the public started to make their own decisions - stopping their kids from going to school, working from home etc and in the end the government felt obliged to act. To me that feels like the opposite of leadership. It seems like they are doing the right things now even if its a game of catch up.

 

[Smartbear]

The government aren’t health experts, they’ve had to be guided by scientists/doctors etc and for a while the consensus was that herd immunity would prevail & save us. That advice was changed after events unfolded in front of us.
It’s easy to look for a scapegoat but i can’t see any of our political leaders pulling a rabbit out the hat with this.
Rob