# 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:** 44
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2020, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prime-minister-boris-johnson-tries-to-lead-the-uk-but-has-resigned-on-july-7-2022/837872/862 "2020-03-26T19:02:05Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > 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) Basically the article says Boris has handled the situation poorly up to the present. Quite true. However almost every other country has done the same (exceptions a few countries in East Asia). For handling the crisis from now on there is this possibility: > [@](#): > > Senior Conservatives are questioning whether Boris Johnson will need a national unity government or emergency cross-party council to share responsibility for the coronavirus crisis if the situation worsens. > > George Freeman, a former minister in Johnson’s government, was the first to break cover to say a “Covid coalition” government may be “unavoidable” and some other Tory MPs privately believe the prime minister will need cross-party governing consensus if emergency measures are to continue for months. > > Freeman told the Guardian: “The scale of this national emergency – the suspension of usual freedoms and democracy, the economic consequences and the likely loss of tens of thousands of lives – demands a suspension of politics as usual. > > “When Labour have a sensible new leader, Keir Starmer [if elected] should be invited to Covid cabinet, Cobra and joint No 10 briefings.” > **['Covid coalition' government considered by senior Conservatives](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/24/covid-coalition-government-considered-by-senior-conservatives)** > > George Freeman says Keir Starmer should join ‘unavoidable’ cross-party government if elected In any event I would much prefer to be governed by a government headed by Boris Johnson than one headed by Donald Trump. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2020, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prime-minister-boris-johnson-tries-to-lead-the-uk-but-has-resigned-on-july-7-2022/837872/863 "2020-03-27T03:14:25Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > . . . In any event I would much prefer to be governed by a government headed by Boris Johnson than one headed by Donald Trump. To be fair, you are setting the bar pretty low there. ---
**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:** [March 27, 2020, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prime-minister-boris-johnson-tries-to-lead-the-uk-but-has-resigned-on-july-7-2022/837872/864 "2020-03-27T06:59:12Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > 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) I’m not a Boris fan, but that article is basically a hack attack based on prejudice and hindsight. Johnson prioritised the economy and concluded that medium-scale social interventions would be sufficient to prevent the effects of the Coronavirus. When those interventions had unsuccessful results, he moved on to large-scale social interventions. With hindsight, he was late to do so, but it’s a matter of days, not weeks. I’m not aware of anyone in the UK who was calling for the current social restrictions as of the end of February. Someone could argue that they should have been implemented on 17 March instead of 24 March, but at that point the health authorities were hoping that voluntary self-isolation and social distancing would be effective. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2020, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prime-minister-boris-johnson-tries-to-lead-the-uk-but-has-resigned-on-july-7-2022/837872/865 "2020-03-27T10:09:21Z")
There are plenty of things to criticise Boris for - the main one being Dominic Fucking Cumming - but at least he’s not Trump. He was slow off the mark but he did eventually leave the starting block and get running in the right direction. The real test will be how he continues. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2020, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prime-minister-boris-johnson-tries-to-lead-the-uk-but-has-resigned-on-july-7-2022/837872/866 "2020-03-27T11:26:03Z")
And now Boris has tested positive for the coronavirus. Dominic Raab to stand in. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2020, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prime-minister-boris-johnson-tries-to-lead-the-uk-but-has-resigned-on-july-7-2022/837872/867 "2020-03-27T11:29:50Z")
Johnson is an example of ‘be careful what you wish for’. He’s always wanted to be Churchill, and now his Churchill moment has come… but he’s not up to it. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2020, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prime-minister-boris-johnson-tries-to-lead-the-uk-but-has-resigned-on-july-7-2022/837872/868 "2020-03-27T11:44:42Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > And now Boris has tested positive for the coronavirus. Dominic Raab to stand in. That’s going to concentrate some minds in government. I wonder if everyone he’s been in contact with in Downing Street over the past week is going to be tested/self-isolate. It’s unlikely that’s he’s the only one who’s got it. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2020, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prime-minister-boris-johnson-tries-to-lead-the-uk-but-has-resigned-on-july-7-2022/837872/869 "2020-03-27T12:32:51Z")
> [@GreenWyvern](#): > > Johnson is an example of ‘be careful what you wish for’. > > He’s always wanted to be Churchill, and now his Churchill moment has come… but he’s not up to it. That ship pretty much sailed, hit an iceberg and sank the moment he joked that the effort to manufacture a lot of ventilators quickly should be called “[Operation Last Gasp](https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/coronavirus-boris-johnson-accused-making-21707575)”. Not cool, Boris. ---
**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 27, 2020, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prime-minister-boris-johnson-tries-to-lead-the-uk-but-has-resigned-on-july-7-2022/837872/870 "2020-03-27T17:55:14Z")
Here’s more on Raab, for those (like me) who don’t know of him: [Dominic Raab - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominic_Raab) ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2020, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prime-minister-boris-johnson-tries-to-lead-the-uk-but-has-resigned-on-july-7-2022/837872/871 "2020-03-28T23:25:19Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > And now Boris has tested positive for the coronavirus. Dominic Raab to stand in. Wait, what does it mean to “stand in”? Is Raab now making all the decisions? If so, is Johnson so sick that he can’t be trusted to make rational choices, or too weak physically to absorb information? Surely the PM would be able to teleconference and WF10DS like everyone else…? ---
**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:** [March 29, 2020, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prime-minister-boris-johnson-tries-to-lead-the-uk-but-has-resigned-on-july-7-2022/837872/872 "2020-03-29T08:42:26Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > Wait, what does it mean to “stand in”? Is Raab now making all the decisions? If so, is Johnson so sick that he can’t be trusted to make rational choices, or too weak physically to absorb information? Surely the PM would be able to teleconference and WF10DS like everyone else…? Right now, what’s being reported is that the PM has a mild case, is holed up in a flat in 11 Downing Street, and is doing his job via phone and videoconference. If the PM gets more severe symptoms such as respiratory distress or extreme aching that makes it hard to move or think, then he’ll need to turn over decision-making to someone else. Dominic Raab, the Foreign Secretary, has been designated as that someone. Generally the second most powerful member of the UK government is the chancellor. However, the current chancellor, Rishi Sunak, has only had the job for a few weeks and wasn’t a senior cabinet member before that. The next three most powerful members of the UK government, depending on the state of affairs at any given time, are the Home Secretary, the Foreign Secretary, and the Defence Secretary. However Dominic Raab was also appointed as the First Secretary of State. That office is essentially a title indicating that he’s the first among equals. Johnson indicating that Raab is the person who will stand in to make prime ministerial decisions, should Johnson become too ill to do so, is consistent with that appointment. Just to make the UK Prime Minister line of succession even more ambiguous, there’s also the position of Deputy Prime Minister. That office holder has the role of taking over the Prime Minister’s duties in Parliament if he is unavailable, and is the nominal second leader of the government. However that position is usually given to the leader of a faction that isn’t loyal to the Prime Minister in order to boost that faction’s support. At the moment, there is no Deputy Prime Minister so it didn’t affect Johnson’s choice for naming a stand-in. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2020, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prime-minister-boris-johnson-tries-to-lead-the-uk-but-has-resigned-on-july-7-2022/837872/873 "2020-03-30T09:25:58Z")
> [@Wrenching\_Spanners](#): > > Right now, what’s being reported is that the PM has a mild case, is holed up in a flat in 11 Downing Street, and is doing his job via phone and videoconference. If the PM gets more severe symptoms such as respiratory distress or extreme aching that makes it hard to move or think, then he’ll need to turn over decision-making to someone else. Dominic Raab, the Foreign Secretary, has been designated as that someone. Yes, he’s not looking great and has reported a mild fever but Boris is WFH as much as possible. Raab is likely picking up some of the minor duties at the moment but Boris is still in charge. > [@](#): > > Generally the second most powerful member of the UK government is the chancellor. However, the current chancellor, Rishi Sunak, has only had the job for a few weeks and wasn’t a senior cabinet member before that. As an aside I’ll mention that, while I’m not suggesting Sunak ought to be ready to stand in for the PM, for someone abruptly elevated to a high office he’s doing a pretty good job so far as Chancellor under the circumstances. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2020, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prime-minister-boris-johnson-tries-to-lead-the-uk-but-has-resigned-on-july-7-2022/837872/874 "2020-03-30T15:01:51Z")
\*\*Dominic Cummings self-isolates after experiencing coronavirus symptoms \*\* Boris Johnson’s key adviser believed to have mild symptoms including a cough > **[Dominic Cummings self-isolates after experiencing coronavirus symptoms](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/mar/30/dominic-cummings-self-isolates-after-experiencing-coronavirus-symptoms)** > > Boris Johnson’s key adviser believed to have mild symptoms including a cough ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2020, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prime-minister-boris-johnson-tries-to-lead-the-uk-but-has-resigned-on-july-7-2022/837872/875 "2020-03-30T16:46:07Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > \*\*Dominic Cummings self-isolates after experiencing coronavirus symptoms > \*\* > Boris Johnson’s key adviser believed to have mild symptoms including a cough > [Dominic Cummings self-isolates after experiencing coronavirus symptoms | Dominic Cummings | The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/mar/30/dominic-cummings-self-isolates-after-experiencing-coronavirus-symptoms) Dominic Cummings was the one who advocated herd immunity (i.e. do nothing) and said, “If that means some pensioners die, too bad”. There should be an icon for schadenfreude. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Oswald\_Bastable](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oswald_bastable/32/214_2.png) [@Oswald\_Bastable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oswald_Bastable)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2020, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prime-minister-boris-johnson-tries-to-lead-the-uk-but-has-resigned-on-july-7-2022/837872/876 "2020-03-30T17:41:11Z")
> [@GreenWyvern](#): > > Dominic Cummings was the one who advocated herd immunity (i.e. do nothing) and said, “If that means some pensioners die, too bad”. > > There should be an icon for schadenfreude. 😃 I think schadenfreude will only apply if/when his symptoms are a little less mild. Not that I’m wishing that on him, of course. OB ---
**Author:** ![DeptfordX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DeptfordX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeptfordX)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2020, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prime-minister-boris-johnson-tries-to-lead-the-uk-but-has-resigned-on-july-7-2022/837872/877 "2020-03-30T19:53:48Z")
Bear in mind Johnson, Hancock\*, Cummings et al will all _officially_ be “Suffering from a mild form of the virus” right up until they need to be hooked up to a ventilator and/or drop dead. \*The health secretary, also infected. ---
**Author:** ![DeptfordX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DeptfordX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeptfordX)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2020, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prime-minister-boris-johnson-tries-to-lead-the-uk-but-has-resigned-on-july-7-2022/837872/878 "2020-03-30T19:56:05Z")
Edit: Double Post. ---
**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:** [April 4, 2020, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prime-minister-boris-johnson-tries-to-lead-the-uk-but-has-resigned-on-july-7-2022/837872/879 "2020-04-04T17:00:04Z")
Keir Starmer elected Labour leader - how do you think he’ll fare going head-to-head against Boris? > **[Keir Starmer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keir_Starmer)** > > Sir Keir Rodney Starmer KCB KC (/kɪər/; born 2 September 1962) is a British politician and barrister who has served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party since 2020. He has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Holborn and St Pancras since 2015. He was previously Director of Public Prosecutions from 2008 to 2013. > Starmer was born in London and raised in Surrey, where he attended the selective state Reigate Grammar School, which became an independent school while he was a st... ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prime-minister-boris-johnson-tries-to-lead-the-uk-but-has-resigned-on-july-7-2022/837872/880 "2020-04-04T18:15:02Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Keir Starmer elected Labour leader - how do you think he’ll fare going head-to-head against Boris? A LOT better than Corbyn. He’s a successful QC and experienced in conducting forensic questioning in court. He won’t let Johnson get away with much. He’s also intelligent, capable, and reasonable - definitely the best choice for Labour leader. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prime-minister-boris-johnson-tries-to-lead-the-uk-but-has-resigned-on-july-7-2022/837872/881 "2020-04-04T19:02:38Z")
It’s a big question as to whether it will be politics as usual or whether the Conservatives and Labour will work together as they did in World War II. [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=43) [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=45)