Anyone understand why Johnson is so far ahead in the polls?

Actually no Urmstongran I voted Lib Dem at the last election for the first time, I couldn’t stomach Corbyn, and I’m in a marginal constituency, the Lib Dem won the seat over the Tory.

I would have agreed with you three months ago, a lot of people in Wales did want Brexit, but there have been lots of job losses in the last few months, and disillusionment has set in. 22 years of a Labour Government means people are restless for change, so the odds are on it being a Labour win but with a reduced number of seats, and Plaid holding the balance of power, they have already said they are willing to go into coalition with Labour. There are 60 seats, likely to end up about 25ish Labour, 15ish Plaid, 15ish Tory and the rest other minority parties appointed into the regional seats. There’s definitely a different mood in the last couple of months - not helped by the Welsh Tory leader being unpopular. The previous one was better, but resigned a few months ago after he, another Tory and a Labour MS were caught drinking in the bar at the Senedd (our parliament) in lockdown.

Wales did vote for Brexit though Casdon so most who voted there must be at least a tiny bit happy with Boris surely? Not you, obviously but your vote went the other way so that’s understandable!

Just an aside, apropos of nothing - I only found out today that the famous Welshman, David Lloyd George, was born in my neck of the woods in Manchester!

I think the reason why Boris Johnson is ahead in the polls is because he 'got Brexit done' and our vaccination programme has been a success. Both are of course true. I believe many people now think that Brexit is done and dusted and there will not be any consequences. We have taken back control. The fact that he is very economical with the truth is brushed aside because ”they are all the same and there's nothing we can do about it”. Depressing.

It isn’t good for a country to have a weak opposition. However, at this moment in time I don’t regard Labour as being weak. They have some very good experienced people in their ranks.Conservative voters will continue to vote Conservative. Corbyn supporters won’t vote Labour because they hate Keir for not being Corbyn. So where do we go from here? Quite frankly I’m reaching the point where I don’t care any more. Or, at least, I do care but it isn’t doing me any good mentally.

I can see something much more profound than no change of government if the Tories win again at the next election GrannyGravy13. In Wales the demands from Plaid Cymru for independence have gained a lot more traction in the last couple of months, which shows how disaffected people are becoming, and I can see that if the government doesn’t radically change approach and they continue the way they are doing in a few years time England will be just that - England, there won’t be a UK. We have been the least supportive of the three countries for independence until very recently, but it could well be a Labour/Plaid coalition here come Friday.

Conservatives are way ahead in the Hartlepool by-election.

I can understand the frustration felt by non-Conservatives however, until the opposition parties get their own houses in order I honestly cannot see a change in Government at the next election.

Guess that I’m better than you at reading posts Aleg...what can I say? Don’t take it to heart.

No, really, how did you guess how a poster voted at the last election and and what her motivations were, when she didn't even mention it? Does MI5 know about you?

Anyway, still hoping love0c comes back, although I wouldn't blame her if she's gone off to some other thread.

Aleg it was so obvious that am surprised it needing pointing out to you.But, you’re welcome.?

Polar... we haven’t been ‘destroyed’ in the eyes of the world at all ( you mean the world where most countries have graft/ greed/ cronyism / corruption in high office) I presume.
The main thing this last year has been the Pandemic, and the UK is doing fantastically well now with getting things back to some kind of normality.
I think posters have some kind of idealist dream of how things have been/are about politics.
Beating Covid, jobs, schooling, seeing friends and family are what matters to people.Any breaking of ‘Ministerial Codes’ comes well down the list, and are happy to leave that to politicians to sort out.

'The will of the people'

I had a look on google's 'ngram viewer' which records instances of the use of a word or phrase over a period of time. Once it has displayed its graph of usage you can drill down to specific types of publication and specific time periods.

The link takes you to pages and pages of media reports which include the phrase over the period Jan 1982 - Dec 2019. I haven't looked at every page of results but a random selection of pages indicates that the phrase has been most heavily used in media reports since 2016. Feel free to check it yourselves

(I've shortened it to a 'tiny url' because the full, very long link, kept breaking and not landing on the correct page)

tinyurl.com/cpctenps

If anyone can come up with a different result, please do share.

Perhaps because people don't want to admit that they voted for deceit and fraud and rejected honesty and commitment.

Thanks for explaining for another poster means Lemongrove, we can always rely on you for that.

How did you guess what she voted last time?

(sorry love0c, I hope you still think its worth answering)

love0c I’m going to comment the opposite way because I get what you’re saying.
I don’t vote C, but L have wasted their time in opposition. I thought when they dumped Corbyn they were getting someone dynamic, with ideas for going forward but IMO (and I know there are those whose opinions differ), Starmer seems hesitant to promise anything.
He is willing to say what the Tories have and are doing wrong and how he, with the benefit of hindsight, would have done it better.
I thought he would take a major role in criticising backhanders and jobs for the boys.
He is not publicly coming up with ideas for the future e.g. what he could do to make Brexit work, (because it’s happened whether I like it or not, so it has to work), or even promising another referendum.
I’m not sure hoping L will sink is realistic though. None of the other parties is anywhere near strong enough.

I agree re the anti Corbyn thing. But that doesn’t answer why he’s still polling well?? Corbyn is long gone.

Of course it isn’t what love0c means Aleg !
It’s obvious that she voted Conservative last time to keep Corbyn out, has been disappointed with them over Covid and thinks that Labour this year have been useless in Opposition.
She hoped that Labour would be worth voting for at the next GE.

Many people voted for Johnson last time solely to keep Corbyn out.

I haven’t got time to read all this. (Read some of it). In answer to the OP - No. no no and no again. I’m beyond baffled and astonished at what people will accept as ‘ok’. I have no idea how we retrieve our integrity and pride after this last few years. We’ve been destroyed as a country the rest of the world admired. My OH says well there’s nothing we can do. I suspect he speaks for many. Personally I subscribe to the evil flourishes when good men do nothing principle.

I'm not starting a fight, honestly. I did read it and I interpret it as you thinking that the Tories are bad but Labour haven't done anything about it, so you're going to vote Tory to try to bring down the Labour party. In the hope that by the next GE there will be a completely new party to vote for.

So, you think that the Conservatives have been completely inadequate but have voted for them anyway.

Is that not what you mean?

Oh dear! I suggest you re read my post!

love0c I'm going to pick on your post, because I think it goes a long way to answering the question in the OP.

You think that the Conservatives have been completely inadequate but have voted for them anyway.

I'm not sure what else to add.

Maizie I doubt it, you wouldn't accept the evidence.

Try me.

I like a bit of evidence from a reputable source. Do you have any?

With regard to what you said once you'd got the poison drip out of the way, I don't think you have any evidence for your strange belief that those of us who decry current corruption are naive idiots who see the world through rose tinted spectacles. All we are saying, unlike the Johnson apologists, is that previously corruption has been the exception, not the rule.

I can only talk from how I see it. Conservatives have been totally inadequate throughout this whole Covid saga. Labour have been utterly useless. They ae the opposition party but have not held the government to account. they have gone along with it. I have voted Conservative solely in the hope it will sink Labour this time. Then in the next GE I hope there will be at least one party other than the Conservatives worth voting for. I do not want a split vote so the less rubbish parties there are, the better. I am trying to see the bigger picture. Hope that makes sense.

I'm happy to be proved wrong, with evidence, of course.

Maizie I doubt it, you wouldn't accept the evidence.

More generally, I think many posters have unrealsitic expectations that we can have a 100% of the electorate, or near it, who are active thoughtful and deeply consider their decision how to vote and a political class that are all 'sea-green incorruptables' and have an absolute certainity of belief that if that was so everyone would vote for their party.

Too many cynical people don’t think his many and frequent lies matter.

varian

FPTP is the least democratic system but appeals to the right wing because it is the easiest sustem for a well funded party with huge support in the media to "fix".

By "well funded" do you mean the Labour party?