# 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:** 45
**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:** [April 5, 2020, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prime-minister-boris-johnson-tries-to-lead-the-uk-but-has-resigned-on-july-7-2022/837872/882 "2020-04-05T03:03:05Z")
Starmer’s going to have a period in which internal party management issues need to be dealt with, plus it’s by no means clear (in relation to CV19) where to strike the balance between working with the government, constructive opposition, and the politics-as-usual that the government’s handling of it offers. It will be some time before there’s a clear field in which he can cut through and establish a distinct identity and message. ---
**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 5, 2020, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prime-minister-boris-johnson-tries-to-lead-the-uk-but-has-resigned-on-july-7-2022/837872/883 "2020-04-05T20:47:33Z")
Boris has been admitted to the hospital > [@](#): > > Boris Johnson has been admitted to hospital for tests as his coronavirus symptoms persist, Downing Street has said. > > On Sunday night, a Downing Street spokeswoman said: “On the advice of his doctor, the prime minister has tonight been admitted to hospital for tests. > > “This is a precautionary step, as the prime minister continues to have persistent symptoms of coronavirus 10 days after testing positive for the virus.” > **[Boris Johnson admitted to hospital with coronavirus](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/apr/05/boris-johnson-admitted-to-hospital-with-coronavirus)** > > Move follows rumours that prime minister’s condition had been worsening I would guess is more than a “precautionary step”, but not being British and not understanding the nuances of language used there, how is this interpreted in Britain? ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2020, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prime-minister-boris-johnson-tries-to-lead-the-uk-but-has-resigned-on-july-7-2022/837872/884 "2020-04-06T00:08:40Z")
No-one knows. Then again, the “Guardian” did say last week that unnamed sources had told them that Johnson was more unwell than was being officially stated. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2020, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prime-minister-boris-johnson-tries-to-lead-the-uk-but-has-resigned-on-july-7-2022/837872/885 "2020-04-06T03:02:25Z")
He’ll have been admitted to hospital for either tests or treatment that he couldn’t have at home, or as an outpatient. Since - especially if you’re the PM - you can have most tests either at home or as an outpatient, I think this probably points him being pretty sick. ---
**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:** [April 6, 2020, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prime-minister-boris-johnson-tries-to-lead-the-uk-but-has-resigned-on-july-7-2022/837872/886 "2020-04-06T03:24:47Z")
He was quoted as saying a couple of days ago that he felt fine but was staying in isolation because he still had a high temperature. But to what extent that was his usual tendency to put an optimistic gloss on an awkward situation, and this official announcement is playing down something more serious, who knows? ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2020, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prime-minister-boris-johnson-tries-to-lead-the-uk-but-has-resigned-on-july-7-2022/837872/887 "2020-04-06T04:39:47Z")
> [@UDS](#): > > He’ll have been admitted to hospital for either tests or treatment that he couldn’t have at home, or as an outpatient. > > Since - especially if you’re the PM - you can have most tests either at home or as an outpatient, I think this probably points him being pretty sick. They gave him oxygen, apparently. According to “The Times”, > [@](#): > > It was understood that he was driven to St Thomas’ Hospital, across the Thames from Westminster, at about 8pm, and given oxygen treatment. He did not need an ambulance. Officials emphasised that it was not an emergency admission. They said that his doctor had wanted him to be assessed in hospital. [https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/coronavirus-boris-johnson-taken-to-hospital-over-persistent-symptoms-b2xsbg9hs](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/coronavirus-boris-johnson-taken-to-hospital-over-persistent-symptoms-b2xsbg9hs) ---
**Author:** ![Kimera757](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kimera757/32/3765_2.png) [@Kimera757](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimera757)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2020, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prime-minister-boris-johnson-tries-to-lead-the-uk-but-has-resigned-on-july-7-2022/837872/888 "2020-04-06T14:40:33Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Keir Starmer elected Labour leader - how do you think he’ll fare going head-to-head against Boris? > > [Keir Starmer - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keir_Starmer) He did well in Parliament (apparently his legal background helps with that) and is generally moderate and responsible. He came up with ten pledges, which is probably three too many, but he didn’t produce a ridiculously long list of “priorities” the way the Corbyn campaign did. I fear there’s enough Corbyn backers in the “back offices” that could cause him trouble. I am happy to note that the newest Labour members (people who paid really small fees to join) voted for him. I was afraid those voters would be Corbyn supporters (who would have voted for Ms. Long-Bailey). Starmer did say he would try to bring back free EU movement and vaguely mused about cancelling Brexit. The first is not great politics (UK is not part of the EU anymore) and the latter could spark fury, but I get the impression he isn’t serious about cancelling Brexit. I suspect every Labour politician would say something similar, though. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2020, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prime-minister-boris-johnson-tries-to-lead-the-uk-but-has-resigned-on-july-7-2022/837872/889 "2020-04-06T19:50:45Z")
He’s [in the ICU](https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-52192604), now, apparently. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2020, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prime-minister-boris-johnson-tries-to-lead-the-uk-but-has-resigned-on-july-7-2022/837872/890 "2020-04-06T22:28:16Z")
So after almost a year of Brexit, elections and political crises, this is what we’ve come to. Seriously. Who here had money on “Boris Johnson incapacitated by plague”? ---
**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 7, 2020, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prime-minister-boris-johnson-tries-to-lead-the-uk-but-has-resigned-on-july-7-2022/837872/891 "2020-04-07T00:37:31Z")
Something interesting about Johnson from the [Telegraph](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2020/04/06/inside-story-boris-johnsons-coronavirus-battle/): > [@](#): > > He has issues with illness, says his biographer and best selling author Sonia Purnell, who worked alongside him in The Telegraph’s Brussels office in the early 1990s. > > “He has a very weird attitude to illness,” she said on Monday. “He was intolerant of anybody who was ill. Until now, he has had a very robust constitution. He has never been ill until now, and this will be a huge shock to him. His outlook on the world is that illness is for weak people.” > > A senior Cabinet minister concurred. "Knowing Boris as I do he doesn’t believe in illness. Constitutionally we never get ill. So for him the fact that he has got it, he will be really angry about it and frustrated that he’s got it. So he’s never really been ill in his life. He’s intolerant of illness and “doesn’t believe in it”. Presumably he thought up to now that it was only weak people malingering and making a fuss about nothing. Sometimes people are stranger and more ignorant than you would have imagined. I think it’s a general problem with many of the 1% - they’ve lived in a protected bubble their whole lives and have never been exposed to reality. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2020, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prime-minister-boris-johnson-tries-to-lead-the-uk-but-has-resigned-on-july-7-2022/837872/892 "2020-04-07T00:41:59Z")
Gawd, sounds just like Trump – the healthiest man in the world! ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2020, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prime-minister-boris-johnson-tries-to-lead-the-uk-but-has-resigned-on-july-7-2022/837872/893 "2020-04-07T04:51:18Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > Gawd, sounds just like Trump – the healthiest man in the world! Shouldn’t the healthiest have their vital fluids drained to inoculate and save sick folks? Spread the immunity for the sake of the community, right. ---
**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 28, 2021, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prime-minister-boris-johnson-tries-to-lead-the-uk-but-has-resigned-on-july-7-2022/837872/894 "2021-04-28T12:53:23Z")
Bumped. Didn’t every British MP learn to avoid this kind of issue a few years ago? > **[Boris Johnson will face formal investigation into apartment renovation costs...](https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/28/uk/boris-johnson-electoral-commission-investigation-uk-intl/index.html)** > > Britain's political spending watchdog will launch a formal investigation into the funding of renovations to Prime Minister Boris Johnson's apartment in Downing Street, as he faces multiple allegations of political sleaze and scandal. And see: > **[Boris Johnson denies disrespecting Covid-19 victims. But the political crises...](https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/27/uk/boris-johnson-scandals-intl-gbr-cmd/index.html)** > > Boris Johnson is currently engulfed in numerous scandals, including allegations that he was happy to let people die to avoid putting England into lockdown. He denies the claim, but another crisis -- a war of words with a former ally -- could be even... ---
**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:** [April 28, 2021, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prime-minister-boris-johnson-tries-to-lead-the-uk-but-has-resigned-on-july-7-2022/837872/895 "2021-04-28T15:00:13Z")
The flat renovation thing is different, in that it’s not about taxpayer-funded expenses; but to the extent that it is about putting himself in hock to people with their own interests to promote, and playing fast and loose with the rules on party financing to disguise the fact - yes, that much is similar. And then there’s the spectacle of Cummings turning on him and spilling the beans (maybe slightly embroidered?) - hell hath no fury like an autodidactic nerd scorned - and the prospect of sundry unnamed disgruntled colleagues piling on with sundry gossip, compounded with (apparently) BJ himself phoning editors to pour bile on Cummings… well, it’s enough to make a cat laugh. ---
**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:** [June 10, 2021, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prime-minister-boris-johnson-tries-to-lead-the-uk-but-has-resigned-on-july-7-2022/837872/896 "2021-06-10T13:50:30Z")
Joe and Boris get to know each other: > **[Boris and Biden: A diplomatic odd couple faces pressure to define the US-UK...](https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/10/politics/joe-biden-boris-johnson-relationship/index.html)** > > In style and in substance, President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson are two very different men leading two countries whose relationship makes up one of the most important global alliances. ---
**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:** [June 29, 2021, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prime-minister-boris-johnson-tries-to-lead-the-uk-but-has-resigned-on-july-7-2022/837872/897 "2021-06-29T13:08:03Z")
Who’s watching, and when? > **[Minister's affair caught on camera prompts questions about surveillance among...](https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/29/uk/matt-hancock-leak-british-security-intl-cmd/index.html)** > > Westminster, the beating heart of British politics, is very worried about how safe the UK government's most important secrets are. ---
**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:** [June 29, 2021, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prime-minister-boris-johnson-tries-to-lead-the-uk-but-has-resigned-on-july-7-2022/837872/898 "2021-06-29T13:18:50Z")
There’s a lot to unpick about that whole situation, and I’m not convinced that the right priorities are being considered. The short version: Matt Hancock was caught on camera failing to observe social distancing rules while having an affair with a married aide whom he previously “secretly” gave a taxpayer-funded non-executive position in the DHSC to, and whose brother is an executive director in a company which has received lucrative NHS contracts. Hancock has apologised for the “failing to observe social distancing rules”, and the current concern in Westminster is the “caught on camera” bit. While I accept that both of those are…let’s say “problematic”… I can’t help but feel that the rampant corruption parts of that sentence are being swept under the carpet. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2021, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prime-minister-boris-johnson-tries-to-lead-the-uk-but-has-resigned-on-july-7-2022/837872/899 "2021-06-29T13:36:43Z")
Precisely how does one have a properly socially-distanced affair? ---
**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:** [June 29, 2021, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prime-minister-boris-johnson-tries-to-lead-the-uk-but-has-resigned-on-july-7-2022/837872/900 "2021-06-29T13:41:44Z")
Not in any kind of a fun way. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2021, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prime-minister-boris-johnson-tries-to-lead-the-uk-but-has-resigned-on-july-7-2022/837872/901 "2021-06-29T16:10:47Z")
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