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

Yes I absolutely agree about the wage but that would not be a popular move.

To give the OP one answer to the question taken from The Times today: Voters haven’t just ‘priced in’ the PM’s flaws, they like the fact that his messy, chaotic life is like many ordinary families.

Johnson held up as a great orator good grief, in that case so is a newly born baby - able to scream very loudly and make incoherent noises.

There are two excellent articles in The Times today. One by Matthew Paris, saying exactly what I said a couple of pages back - that the secret of Johnson's success is that there is no credible alternative and then analysing why. Top of page 29, if you can lay hands on a copy of the paper.

There is another article on p31 written by Janice Turner with a sub heading Voters ahve not just'priced in' the PM's flaws. , they like the fact that his messy chaotic life is like so many ordinary families

The article goes to expand on this, that people find his messy personal life re-assuring. It also quotes an explanation on why Hilary Clinton lost the 2016 election to Trump. I paraphrase: Th white working class are fed up with professional, like lawyers and teachers, They see them as professional do-gooders telling them how to behave. The really rich like Trump do not pretend to be perfect, they are flaky parents, have flash homes, model wives, a hamburger habit and a fake tan and acted like a trucker after a lottery win.

Which groups would you put Johnson and Starmer in?

Th white working class are fed up with professional, like lawyers and teachers, They see them as professional do-gooders telling them how to behave.

As I pointed out several pages ago, the working classes used to aspire to be teachers and lawyers and put a very high value on education and self improvement.

Now they just sneer at people who have achieved more than they have.

Who taught them to do that?

*MaizieD why do you think the working class are such sheep? Attitudes like that go along way to explainng why Labour is so unsuccessful these days

M0nica I agree with your last post.

Re-reading this thread I'm left wondering whether some of the Johnson fan club actually fancy him? After all, he's younger than most of the GNer's OHs, he's fathered several children so he must be virile and he's still got quite a lot of hair.

Dinahmo

Eventually the public will care about the govt's corruption.

The following taken from GLP

"Good Law Project is now able to reveal the names of four more companies awarded contracts through the VIP lane: Clandeboye Agencies, P14 Medical, Luxe Lifestyle and Meller Designs.

P14 Medical, run by a Tory councillor and donor, was awarded £276m in PPE contracts.
Meller Designs, run by David Meller a large Tory donor and trustee of the rightwing lobby group Policy Exchange, was given more than £160m in PPE contracts.
Luxe Lifestyle was awarded a £26m contract despite appearing to be insolvent and without any employees.
And Clandeboye Agencies whose registered trade on Companies House is “wholesale of sugar, chocolate and sugar confectionery” was awarded £108m in PPE contracts (see page 73 and following). We should say that the Government says Clandeboye was not in the VIP lane – but its own internal documents tell a different story.

These four are in addition to Ayanda, which enjoyed a £252m deal negotiated by Liz Truss adviser Andrew Mills. And Pestfix which won approximately £350m in contracts despite being described by Government as a company “which specialises in pest control products, that was dormant in 2018” (see page 73). There remain a further 41 firms yet to be revealed."

* The total awarded to these 6 companies is £1172 million.*

I don’t understand why people can’t see the information in dinahmo ‘s post. It is nepotism, giving contracts to old friends, whereas others couldn’t get a look in because they didn’t have his number. His tousled blond hair, blue eyes and charisma overcome all.

Dinahmo, you just ruined my day - just as we going out to collect our supper. I feel quite ill at the thought.

Jaxjacky

To give the OP one answer to the question taken from The Times today: Voters haven’t just ‘priced in’ the PM’s flaws, they like the fact that his messy, chaotic life is like many ordinary families.

Like many ordinary families ? Bloody hell now that’s patronising isn’t it about ‘ordinary’ families, BJs amoral irresponsible personal life is frankly the stuff of Jeremy Kyle.

Dinahmo

Re-reading this thread I'm left wondering whether some of the Johnson fan club actually fancy him? After all, he's younger than most of the GNer's OHs, he's fathered several children so he must be virile and he's still got quite a lot of hair.

He’s a happy chap but not my type!

Thank you mokryna I was intending to ask that myself. I think people don't want to know, even about such large sums.

I think I know quite lot of "ordinary families" inlcuding some who vote conservative.

As far as I know not one of them is as immoral or as nasty or as self-seeking as Johnson.

Surely he is not a reflection of the ordinary families or ordinary people in our country?

Surely we ordinary folk are a lot better than that?

M0nica

*MaizieD why do you think the working class are such sheep? Attitudes like that go along way to explainng why Labour is so unsuccessful these days

You tell me, then, MOnica, why the working class are no longer aspirational?

And stop all this patronising rubbish about supposed left wingers not understanding the working classes.

I suppose that you think that you do?

Dinahmo

Thank you mokryna I was intending to ask that myself. I think people don't want to know, even about such large sums.

I already knew about them, if that's any help?

I subscribe to the Good Law Project and get very regular updates.

Didn’t they say years ago that people weren’t aspirational because they think that they might win the lottery or pop idol or something: even if they didn’t do either. Or perhaps people are happy to live their lives watching other people on reality shows?

You tell me, then, MOnica, why the working class are no longer aspirational?

The clumping together of such a hugs number of people and saying they are not aspirational in the mass is very silly. People are individuals. I know working class people who are aspirational.

Actually, I don't think I know any who aren't. Which is not to say unaspirational people don't exist, just that such mass generalisations are daft.

*huge

Baggs

^You tell me, then, MOnica, why the working class are no longer aspirational?^

The clumping together of such a hugs number of people and saying they are not aspirational in the mass is very silly. People are individuals. I know working class people who are aspirational.

Actually, I don't think I know any who aren't. Which is not to say unaspirational people don't exist, just that such mass generalisations are daft.

Quite possibly, many working class people are more aspirational than their counterparts in the inherited wealth and position camp.

Well it seems Labour are about to lose DOZENS of ‘red Wall’ seats on Thursday.

Labour now represents students, university lecturers and Guardian readers. They have shown time and time again that they despise white working class males and they are about to lose their votes.

And the Conservatives don’t despise white working class males? Good grief. That sounds positively Trumpian.

Baggs

^You tell me, then, MOnica, why the working class are no longer aspirational?^

The clumping together of such a hugs number of people and saying they are not aspirational in the mass is very silly. People are individuals. I know working class people who are aspirational.

Actually, I don't think I know any who aren't. Which is not to say unaspirational people don't exist, just that such mass generalisations are daft.

In which case, Baggs and MOnica, why do they sneer at people who have an education and a decent job? The sort of achievements their grandparents worked towards for themselves and future generations?

Where are these dozens of red wall seats you’re talking about Urmstongran? I haven’t seen that reported anywhere, and thought only Wales and Scotland had government elections on Thursday, plus the Hartlepool bye election?

We have local elections on Thursday but are neither in Wales nor Scotland. It will be interesting to see if Labour lose their seat.

Casdon here in Hampshire we have County, Borough and some Parish elections on Thursday, I think it’s similar throughout England.