Read the 'inside' story of today's reshuffle.

Quite amusing reading posts on here from those who consider themselves to be "the intellectual elite". Just reading their posts, it becomes quite clear that they are in fact just socialist snobs. Yes, some people do deserve to be disparaged.

MOnica Class loyalty is so last century! It's all about values loyalty now.

Some people deserve to be disparaged.

MOnica
I'm surprised that your surprised at MaizieDs opinion of voters intelligence ( only those who voted to leave, obviously ?)

That's rather an insulting post, anniezzz09

You're being very disparaging indeed

And comments like yours are why people have been leaving the left.

Elitist comments antagonise

Your stance is really praiseworthy 'M0nica' but seriously, have you looked at the tabloids and the kinds of thinking that is behind the articles they publish. Presumably those wouldn't be published otherwise.

And seeing that you read the Guardian, today's article about the Coronavirus which is headed 'False rumours on Coronavirus could cost lives'. This article contains the riveting information that 40% of people in the UK believe at least one conspiracy theory and 14% of parents admit to sending their children to school with contagious infections, flouting school rules. Not a lot of considered thinking going on then. www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/14/coronavirus-false-rumours-cost-lives-researchers?

100% sure

I am % sure that there are voters who think it through less thoroughly than you Monica - like the taxi driver who told us he didn't know anything about the EU but voted leave because the foreigners didn't vote for us in the Eurovision Song contest

In that case nobody ever votes rationally. None of us know what our points of unreason are, but we are all convinced that we have thought through our voting decisions.

I may think that other people's voting decisions are wrong, but I would never suggest they thought it through less throughly than I had.

Sorry not to be able to say exactly who, but I heard someone saying on the radio just recently that the thing about voting in elections is that most people vote from their emotions not their intellect.

I think this was actually a commentator on the outcome of the Irish election and the massive swing to Sinn Fein.

I wouldn't disparage Workington man but I would say that different levels of education, plus of course our deceitful and manipulative tabloids, affect how many people vote. I happened to be in a pub on election night and overheard some workmen talking about voting, builders judging by their clothing. 'Who yer voting for then', Johnson I s'pose, seems o'right' and that was about as far as the discussion went. The fact that Eton educated Johnson would happily laugh with derision in this man's face and pursue policies that were careless of his livelihood was not on this man's horizon.

I've been left wing all my life but I think careful crafting of a don't rock the boat, just blame the foreigners mindset has won the day here. I don't look forward to the next five years.

So now it turns out that other ministers were told to discard their advisors and were happy to go along with that. Which terrifies me even more [this is what my partner told me so I don't have any links; but he tends to watch Sky News].

based on a mix of reason and unreason

That's better, MOnica. I don't think that 'unreason' is compatible with 'carefully thought out'

maizie to hear that from you, you have shattered my respect for your socialist views.

We all vote from our own position and experience and I think all voters, at every level make their votes based on a mix of reason and unreason.

So easy to sit in judgement and be disparaging about Workington Men and how dumb they are until you need one to - get rid of your rubbish, mend your car, clean out the drains, wheel you on a trolley into A&E etc., etc.,

I wouldn't apologise, Yehbutnobut. I think MOnica has a somewhat rose tinted view of voters.

Yes, I realise I sound like an intellectual snob, but I use the same tone when I talk about Trump supporters.

I am sorry Yehbutnobut I really do not like your patronising tone when talking about 'Workington man'.

Voters at every level are capable of looking and listening to the full message of all the parties before making their decisions.

From the post election interviews, most of the voters who changed, did so for carefully thought out reasons, mainly because of disatisfaction with the Labour Party and its current leadership.

Priti Patel.... Both vicious and stupid....
I had been looking for an accurate description of her and now I have one. Thank you MOnica for the article.
Without the checks and balances from number 11, the PM can spend at will. Let’s hope he makes wise decisions and five years from now, we will be a global power with an enviably efficient NHS. The PM now has to prove that he is not all mouth and no trousers.
I am looking forward to this.

I don’t think the wholesale defection of Workington Men to the likes of Boris offers any ‘hope’. It merely shows that dumbing down the message to three words is the way to go.

Oh! And adding phrases that gel like ‘oven ready’. Cummings has them sussed.

M0nica Brilliant! Thanks for the link.

I now refer to Boris as the 'Trumpet'.

annsixty we could look on the bright side. In the last elelction Jeremy Corbyn has shown that even blind class loyalty has its limits, when a whole swathe of Labour heartland constituencies went Conservative. It offers hope that if it can happen in one party it can happen in both, except that currently Labour, still under JC and its future leadership looking uncertain, have a long way to go for Conservative voters, ex-Labour or not to think them preferable to the Conservatives.

Fabulous MOnica, John Grace is a joy

The old jokes about certain members of the electorate who would vote for a pig if it was dressed in blue are no longer funny.

Conservative must be very embarrassed by the things that are happening.

Crace for PM.

We must be a laughing stock around the world.

Two madmen in such powerful positions, I am talking Trump as the other one.

He’s good but less o these days in my opinion. He was stellar with his 4 pot plants and Theresa May!

Vintage Crace! He’s a National Treasure.