The leader has become a liability

GrannyGravy13

Whitewavemark2

The Tories stayed at home.

However you dress it up Whitewavemark2 the Conservatives got 52% of the votes, which means more Conservatives went out and voted…

I’m not dressing it up? it is what it is. You’ll get no argument from me?

James Brokenshire very popular. Bexley a shoe-in for Tories, but many voters stayed at home ( 15,000 fewer votes) don’t think you can herald the end of any particular party based on that result.

vegansrock

James Brokenshire very popular. Bexley a shoe-in for Tories, but many voters stayed at home ( 15,000 fewer votes) don’t think you can herald the end of any particular party based on that result.

I agree vegansrock it maybe shows up the apathy of the electorate.

I would think the foul weather might have kept many at home, rather than apathy.

The low turnout is a real eye opener for me. Here we are amidst two of the biggest issues of our generation and 66% of people didn't vote.

It astonishes me that after every single thing which has happened since the last general election 66% of people in Old Bexley and Sidcup didn't have an opinion they felt worth expressing by way of a vote. Perhaps they felt in such a strong seat their vote would be wasted. What a terrible shame if that is the case.

Many of us on Gransnet News and Politics care so much about politics but it seems we are in a little bubble of our own.

Germanshepherdsmum

I would think the foul weather might have kept many at home, rather than apathy.

Was it foul? It was bright, but very cold up here. Not at all 'foul'.

However.

Low turnout is typical for a bye-election. Hard to tell whether it was voter apathy or tory 'protest' nonvote...

How many under 30's Vote?
I work with quite a few, they never Vote.... Even in the General elections.

Whitewavemark2

The Tories stayed at home.

And for a very good reason- just could not bear to vote for Johnson, but not ready to vote for anyone else.

Very indicative of the mood for sure, and that things are a-turning, even in staunch Tory areas.

The vote wasn’t for Johnson, it was for a new MP.

Visgir1

How many under 30's Vote?
I work with quite a few, they never Vote.... Even in the General elections.

I've spoken to too many in that age group - and a tad older - who say that they "don't get involved in politics", and the odd one or two that admit they don't really "understand much about it".

A few weeks ago I was talking to a nurse (30-something) and she told me that she didn't know who stood for what - she actually asked me if Boris Johnson was Conservative or Labour. Hard to believe, but I promise it's true.

When I was at school, we had mock elections - everyone got involved, and it was great fun... other GN'ers did the same, I'm sure my school was not unique.

Why are some young people so apathetic - it's their futures at stake. Which I've pointed out, but they just shrug and say things like, "yeah, I know, but what can you do?".

Not good.

Did anyone see Angela Merkel’s retirement speech?

My goodness it was impressive.

She is everything that Johnson is not.

Intelligent, a woman of integrity, capable and competent.

A clear thinker who is able to convey every message with sense and clarity.

Whitewavemark2

Did anyone see Angela Merkel’s retirement speech?

My goodness it was impressive.

She is everything that Johnson is not.

Intelligent, a woman of integrity, capable and competent.

A clear thinker who is able to convey every message with sense and clarity.

... interesting choice of music she made - 70s Punk rock

Perhaps you should make voting compulsory as it is here . Can’t see it happening though, so the low turn out rates will no doubt continue and Boris will reign supreme once again.

I used to admire Angela Merkel. I thought her compassionate, intelligent and a safe pair of hands during her tenure as Chancellor for 16 years.

However many reports coming out of Germany seem to indicate the wheels are coming off the bus, sadly.

This from the Telegraph is just one example:

“.... broadcast live to the German nation, marks the end of the Merkel era. This Grosser Zapfenstreich dates back three centuries to Frederick the Great, who imported ceremonies by torchlight from Tsarist Russia. Mrs Merkel might not seem to have much in common with Prussia’s most martial monarch, but she was brought up in Bandenburg, the heartland of “Old Fritz”, and there is something profoundly Prussian about her legacy.

It isn’t just her frugality and formality, her sentimentality and ruthlessness, her love of rules and regulations that mark her out as a proper Prussian. In her long reign Mrs Merkel has recast Germany in her own image: happy to carry on pretending that everything is fine, when in reality every major problem is postponed, evaded or brushed under the carpet. As so often in its chequered history, Merkel’s Germany is a nation in denial.”

She's a physicist.

I like her.

Sadly, the Torygraph don't like that kind of thing.

She seems competent, I dont agree with her on a number of social issues such as same sex marriage.

Tories lose control of Worthing.

First time ever!!

Seems to me that scientists, doctors or lawyers are the best people to have in government. Maybe the days of second rate journalists are over. I hope so.

Whitewavemark2

Tories lose control of Worthing.

First time ever!!

Labour and Conservatives have 17 seat’s apiece, Liberal Democrats have 2 and an Independent has 1

Yes they’ve lost control of a council that was forever a solid Tory council. The Tory south of England is beginning to look decidedly wobbly.

Whitewavemark2

Yes they’ve lost control of a council that was forever a solid Tory council. The Tory south of England is beginning to look decidedly wobbly.

Councils are really different beasts. My local city in the South of England has x2 MP's x1 Labour x1 Tory and a Liberal council leader.

MayBee70

Seems to me that scientists, doctors or lawyers are the best people to have in government. Maybe the days of second rate journalists are over. I hope so.

Mind you, who was the poor Tory woman, a scientist apparently, who was on Question Time last night. Wow, I almost felt sorry for her- trying to deny what we all know is the truth (Christmas party) and support Johnson and policies. She had NO chance, and she was pretty hopeless at responding anyway. Lamb to slaughter. And I don't think there was a single person supporting her or Johnson in the audience- considering it was Weston-super-Mare, that was just incredible.

Visgir1

Whitewavemark2

Yes they’ve lost control of a council that was forever a solid Tory council. The Tory south of England is beginning to look decidedly wobbly.

Councils are really different beasts. My local city in the South of England has x2 MP's x1 Labour x1 Tory and a Liberal council leader.

Exactly Vis Councils are very changeable and people vote for somebody they like, often quite different from how they vote in a GE.

MaizieD

I'm sorry you've done that, Dickens. Threads wander all over the place and you really shouldn't let anyone dictate what you can, or cannot, post.

I tried to be objective and on reflection decided that what I'd written risked turning the thread into a discussion about Brexit itself which I don't think was the OP's intention.

I certainly don't make any apology for mentioning it in relation to Johnson's popularity (or otherwise) - which is why I left my other comments intact. He is popular with many purely because of it, so it's quite valid to bring the subject into the discussion .

"Johnson is someone who lies all the time. Lies are ontological, elemental, essential for him"

So ? I just subtitled into English what my friend
@MarionVanR
said about him on French TV, mentioning, among other things, the
@PeterStefanovi2
video ?

twitter.com/AlexTaylorNews/status/1466122815464169476?s=20