# Prime Minister Boris Johnson tries to lead the UK but has resigned on July 7, 2022 **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 30, 2019, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prime-minister-boris-johnson-tries-to-lead-the-uk-but-has-resigned-on-july-7-2022/837872 "2019-07-30T14:24:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 43
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2019, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prime-minister-boris-johnson-tries-to-lead-the-uk-but-has-resigned-on-july-7-2022/837872/842 "2019-10-30T08:33:40Z")
> [@Wrenching\_Spanners](#): > > Johnson can and will blame Parliament for failing to deliver Brexit, and will obfuscate his own history of voting against the Government prior to becoming Prime Minister. Johnson’s goal isn’t Brexit, it’s to be Prime Minister with a parliamentary majority. Plan A all along has been to arrange a general election. If he could deliver a Brexit deal, then that would be terrific as it would gain him votes. However, the alternative of Johnson presenting himself as the people’s champion, getting rid of a deadlocked parliament that has failed to deliver the people’s will also works for him as an election strategy. Expect a month and a half of bashing Parliament and shouting that they failed while dodging questions about his own performance as an MP. Johnson will try this, but whether the public will fall for it remains to be seen. Not everybody buys uncritically into Johnson’s fetish of 31 October as the date by which Brexit had to be acheived at all costs, and a presumably still larger group will not buy the notion that responsiblity for not meeting that deadline lies entirely with Parliament, and not at all with Johnson. Johnson has, of course, never fought a general election as party leader, and so is something of an unknown quantity in that regard. He’s popular because he’s regarded as witty and entertaining, but I don’t think he is regarded as trustworthy, reliable or even honest. He may therefore have more difficulty persuading the electorate to buy his view of recent events than a different Tory leader would have. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2019, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prime-minister-boris-johnson-tries-to-lead-the-uk-but-has-resigned-on-july-7-2022/837872/843 "2019-10-30T08:42:31Z")
> [@UDS](#): > > Johnson will try this, but whether the public will fall for it remains to be seen. Not everybody buys uncritically into Johnson’s fetish of 31 October as the date by which Brexit had to be acheived at all costs, and a presumably still larger group will not buy the notion that responsiblity for not meeting that deadline lies entirely with Parliament, and not at all with Johnson. > > Johnson has, of course, never fought a general election as party leader, and so is something of an unknown quantity in that regard. He’s popular because he’s regarded as witty and entertaining, but I don’t think he is regarded as trustworthy, reliable or even honest. He may therefore have more difficulty persuading the electorate to buy his view of recent events than a different Tory leader would have. I only wish I shared your optimism. We are now in the grip a populist politician with the backing of a hard right press. At this point, I can’t see anything other than a Tory majority. Makes me want to weep. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2019, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prime-minister-boris-johnson-tries-to-lead-the-uk-but-has-resigned-on-july-7-2022/837872/844 "2019-10-30T09:07:42Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > I only wish I shared your optimism. We are now in the grip a populist politician with the backing of a hard right press. At this point, I can’t see anything other than a Tory majority. Makes me want to weep. If Labour elected a moderate, charismatic leader and proposed even vaguely sensible policies, they would get the backing of the press. It happened before, and we had by far the best PM of my lifetime, not that there’s been that much competition. But they won’t, as sadly moderates don’t seem inclined to get involved at the grassroots level. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2019, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prime-minister-boris-johnson-tries-to-lead-the-uk-but-has-resigned-on-july-7-2022/837872/845 "2019-10-30T09:24:53Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > I only wish I shared your optimism. We are now in the grip a populist politician with the backing of a hard right press. At this point, I can’t see anything other than a Tory majority. Makes me want to weep. I don’t get this, pretty much no politician in my lifetime has been ridiculed by the press as much as Boris. How do you think his reputation as a clown has been perpetrated? And “populist” seems to be now used as a substitute for “politician who is popular that I don’t like”. By the definition of populism that I’m familiar with, Corbyn is the biggest populist out there, as was Macron, As is Sturgeon and Salmond before her. To quote Wiki, > [@](#): > > Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasise the idea of “the people” and often juxtapose this group against “the elite” Does “for the many not the few” sound familiar? ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2019, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prime-minister-boris-johnson-tries-to-lead-the-uk-but-has-resigned-on-july-7-2022/837872/846 "2019-10-30T13:34:16Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > I don’t get this, pretty much no politician in my lifetime has been ridiculed by the press as much as Boris. How do you think his reputation as a clown has been perpetrated? You’re not reading the right papers. [Daily Express](https://www.express.co.uk/), Torygraph, [Mail](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/index.html), Times, Sun all bloody love him right now. > [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > And “populist” seems to be now used as a substitute for “politician who is popular that I don’t like”. By the definition of populism that I’m familiar with, Corbyn is the biggest populist out there, as was Macron, As is Sturgeon and Salmond before her. It’s not how I’d define populism - it’s about a politician who’ll say anything to get the people on side, even if it’s total bollocks. Say what you like about Corbyn, you could never call him popular outside of his inner Labour-left clique. The polls are pretty clear on that score. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2019, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prime-minister-boris-johnson-tries-to-lead-the-uk-but-has-resigned-on-july-7-2022/837872/847 "2019-10-30T13:36:52Z")
> [@Steophan](#): > > If Labour elected a moderate, charismatic leader and proposed even vaguely sensible policies, they would get the backing of the press. It happened before, and we had by far the best PM of my lifetime, not that there’s been that much competition. > > But they won’t, as sadly moderates don’t seem inclined to get involved at the grassroots level. I agree 100%. The only straws I feel we might clutch at with this general election is that Labour will suffer a major defeat and need to go through a significant overhaul. Including dumping Corbyn. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2019, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prime-minister-boris-johnson-tries-to-lead-the-uk-but-has-resigned-on-july-7-2022/837872/848 "2019-10-30T13:56:37Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > You’re not reading the right papers. [Daily Express](https://www.express.co.uk/), Torygraph, [Mail](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/index.html), Times, Sun all bloody love him right now. and all have taken the piss out of him mercilessly. > [@](#): > > It’s not how I’d define populism - it’s about a politician who’ll say anything to get the people on side, even if it’s total bollocks. But that’s pretty much every politician who has ever lived. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2019, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prime-minister-boris-johnson-tries-to-lead-the-uk-but-has-resigned-on-july-7-2022/837872/849 "2019-11-01T15:46:24Z")
I thought this was interesting for a number of reasons: [Farage tells Johnson: Drop Brexit deal and I’ll help you win](https://apnews.com/925fd89586a14f8aa7b5ef73019b0ac7). > [@](#): > > British euroskeptic politician Nigel Farage tried to ramp up the pressure on Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday, saying his Brexit Party will run against the Conservatives across the country in next month’s election unless Johnson abandons his divorce deal with the European Union. > > Farage’s party, which was founded earlier this year to push for no-deal departure from the EU, has seats in the European Parliament but none in Britain’s Parliament. It rejects Johnson’s divorce deal, preferring to leave the bloc with no agreement on future relations in what it calls a “clean-break” Brexit. > > Launching the Brexit Party’s campaign for the Dec. 12 election, Farage said Friday that Johnson’s deal “is not Brexit” because it would mean continuing to follow some EU rules and holding years of negotiations on future relations. > > “Boris tell us this is a great new deal. It is not. It is a bad old treaty and simply it is not Brexit,” Farage said. > [@](#): > > “I believe the only way to solve this is to build a ‘leave’ alliance across this country,” Farage said. “If it was done, Boris Johnson would win a very big majority.” > > Farage warned that if Johnson rejects the offer, “we will contest every single seat in England, Scotland and Wales.” > > Farage said Johnson needed to make up his mind before the nominations for election candidates close on Nov. 14. Initial reaction certainly didn’t go Farage’s way: > [@](#): > > Johnson, however, has already ruled out an electoral pact with Farage. > > “We are not interested in doing any pacts with the Brexit Party or indeed with anybody else,” Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick said Friday. “We are in this to win it.” ---
**Author:** ![Ryan\_Liam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ryan_liam/32/3965_2.png) [@Ryan\_Liam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryan_Liam)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2019, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prime-minister-boris-johnson-tries-to-lead-the-uk-but-has-resigned-on-july-7-2022/837872/850 "2019-11-04T00:17:35Z")
> [@](#): > > Initial reaction certainly didn’t go Farage’s way: You’ve got it wrong, Farage was never going to be in a pact with Boris, the offer was always designed to fail. ---
**Author:** ![Ryan\_Liam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ryan_liam/32/3965_2.png) [@Ryan\_Liam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryan_Liam)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2019, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prime-minister-boris-johnson-tries-to-lead-the-uk-but-has-resigned-on-july-7-2022/837872/851 "2019-11-04T00:19:16Z")
> [@Steophan](#): > > If Labour elected a moderate, charismatic leader and proposed even vaguely sensible policies, they would get the backing of the press. It happened before, and we had by far the best PM of my lifetime, not that there’s been that much competition. > > But they won’t, as sadly moderates don’t seem inclined to get involved at the grassroots level. Alot of the policies Corbyn is pushing, nationalisation, increased taxes on the wealthy, are very popular with the public. ---
**Author:** ![upend](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b3f665/32.png) [@upend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/upend)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2019, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prime-minister-boris-johnson-tries-to-lead-the-uk-but-has-resigned-on-july-7-2022/837872/852 "2019-11-04T13:22:50Z")
> [@Ryan\_Liam](#): > > Alot of the policies Corbyn is pushing, nationalisation, increased taxes on the wealthy, are very popular with the public. Corbyn’s problem is that he is fantastically popular with around 30% of the voting public and not at all with the other 70%. Add in a small but [nontrivial] amount of Labour Brixiteers going to The Brexit Party and this gets you to the high 20’s that we see for Labour in the polls. ---
**Author:** ![Wrenching\_Spanners](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecb155/32.png) [@Wrenching\_Spanners](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wrenching_Spanners)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2019, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prime-minister-boris-johnson-tries-to-lead-the-uk-but-has-resigned-on-july-7-2022/837872/853 "2019-11-04T17:49:18Z")
> [@Ryan\_Liam](#): > > You’ve got it wrong, Farage was never going to be in a pact with Boris, the offer was always designed to fail. Farage’s offer to cooperate with the Tories was designed to be a win-win arrangement. If the Tories agreed not to contest strong Leave voting seats in traditional Labour areas, then it would improve the Brexit Party’s chances of getting those seats. All they would have to give up would be to not run in traditional Tory strongholds – seats they’re probably not going to win anyway. But since his offer was turned down, now Farage can state that leaving the EU is his first priority, and if the Tories were serious about leaving, they would have shown it by working with the Brexit Party. Basically it’s an indirect appeal to hard-Leave voters who may be leaning towards Johnson. I don’t think it will gain the Brexit Party any seats, but it will probably get them a few extra votes. Not to mention it got Farage’s face on the TV, which was his other motive. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2019, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prime-minister-boris-johnson-tries-to-lead-the-uk-but-has-resigned-on-july-7-2022/837872/854 "2019-11-04T18:29:57Z")
Are most of the parties pro-brexit? ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2019, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prime-minister-boris-johnson-tries-to-lead-the-uk-but-has-resigned-on-july-7-2022/837872/855 "2019-11-04T19:00:58Z")
Depends how you want to slice it. LibDems, Greens, and the Scottish and Welsh Nationalists are anti-Brexit. The Northern Ireland DUP are pro-Brexit, although Northern Ireland as a whole voted to remain (the other Northern Ireland parties aren’t in parliament). Of the two main parties, Conservatives are mostly either pro-Brexit or, if at heart remainers, feel they have to go along with the referendum result. Labour is mostly pro-remain but is trying to offer a compromise position, because so many of their heartland constituencies voted to leave. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2019, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prime-minister-boris-johnson-tries-to-lead-the-uk-but-has-resigned-on-july-7-2022/837872/856 "2019-11-04T19:14:38Z")
Most Labour MPs may be pro-Remain, but their campaign promise seems to be they will negotiate a new deal then ask the public to approve it, with the intention of leaving. I say “seems to be” because, as always with Corbyn, it’s vague and subject to change on a daily basis. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2019, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prime-minister-boris-johnson-tries-to-lead-the-uk-but-has-resigned-on-july-7-2022/837872/857 "2019-11-04T19:17:29Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > Depends how you want to slice it. > > LibDems, Greens, and the Scottish and Welsh Nationalists are anti-Brexit. The Northern Ireland DUP are pro-Brexit, although Northern Ireland as a whole voted to remain (the other Northern Ireland parties aren’t in parliament). Of the two main parties, Conservatives are mostly either pro-Brexit or, if at heart remainers, feel they have to go along with the referendum result. Labour is mostly pro-remain but is trying to offer a compromise position, because so many of their heartland constituencies voted to leave. Right, there’s really only two parties in terms of numbers. So, even the Liberal party is sorta-kinda pro-Brexit? But only 51% voted Brexit. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2019, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prime-minister-boris-johnson-tries-to-lead-the-uk-but-has-resigned-on-july-7-2022/837872/858 "2019-11-04T19:41:47Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > So, even the Liberal party is sorta-kinda pro-Brexit? No, the Lib Dems are by far the strongest Remain party in England. Labour (not a Liberal party) are effectively trying to be both at once, as they fear a lot of their long-term voters will vote Brexit party, and because there’s a significant split between factions. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2019, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prime-minister-boris-johnson-tries-to-lead-the-uk-but-has-resigned-on-july-7-2022/837872/859 "2019-11-04T19:44:51Z")
> [@Steophan](#): > > No, the Lib Dems are by far the strongest Remain party in England. Labour (not a Liberal party) are effectively trying to be both at once, as they fear a lot of their long-term voters will vote Brexit party, and because there’s a significant split between factions. Right, I meant Labor. But again, we have the two biggest parties, who represent like 80%, kowtowing to a 51% Brexit vote, which now might even be less than 50%. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2019, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prime-minister-boris-johnson-tries-to-lead-the-uk-but-has-resigned-on-july-7-2022/837872/860 "2019-11-04T19:51:13Z")
80% of seats, yes, but more like 60% of the vote. Labour, especially, will struggle if they lose votes to another party as they are already polling well below the Tories. And that’s ignoring Scotland and Northern Ireland, where the local parties could well get enough seats to hold the balance of power, and could potentially be majority remain. The problem is that Leave/Remain isn’t neatly split across party lines, and yet is the biggest issue at this election, despite the claims of some parties. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2020, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prime-minister-boris-johnson-tries-to-lead-the-uk-but-has-resigned-on-july-7-2022/837872/861 "2020-03-26T16:52:07Z")
Bumped. A _NYT_ columnist says Boris isn’t up to the COVID-19 challenge: [https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/26/opinion/coronavirus-uk-boris-johnson.html](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/26/opinion/coronavirus-uk-boris-johnson.html) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prime-minister-boris-johnson-tries-to-lead-the-uk-but-has-resigned-on-july-7-2022/837872.md?page=42) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prime-minister-boris-johnson-tries-to-lead-the-uk-but-has-resigned-on-july-7-2022/837872.md?page=44)