So the Final 2 - Liz and Rishi

I managed 5 minutes ........ head in hands.

Great questions from Faisal!

I’m cringing, I can hardly bear to watch. I almost feel sorry for her. Sunak is very angry and frustrated.

Can hardly bear to watch. Apart from anything else, the BBC’s Faisal Islam must be irritated that Ms Truss is consistently pronouncing his name incorrectly.

Truss seems a bit flakey.

Truss is so bad. I cant really believe what I am watching. Amazing news for Labour if she wins.

It's utterly depressing, isn't it?

Good grief. These are the people that are going to be running the country and all they can do is argue….

I will be watching in 40 minutes on BBC1. To be honest I’m not that impressed by either of them but one of them will be declared PM on 5 September!

That's very interesting Zonne although I'd like to see more people being asked.

Boris Johnson fits all of those apart from the one that most people say is most important - Honest.
Of course, he's been rubbish at his non-politics jobs and at being father and husband, so just ticking the boxes isn't enough.

icanhandthemback

^It’s coming back to bite one of them, at least, since I see 21% of Tory voters (and I suspect a higher percentage of Tory members) think having a white PM is very important.^

I find that surprising. I live in a predominantly Conservative area and that is just not what I see or hear in the discussions.

I know several Tory voters and they all favour Sunak.

However, I don't think that they are Party members.

icanhandthemback this is the source.

It’s coming back to bite one of them, at least, since I see 21% of Tory voters (and I suspect a higher percentage of Tory members) think having a white PM is very important.

I find that surprising. I live in a predominantly Conservative area and that is just not what I see or hear in the discussions.

Casdon

I think that the apathy they have shown in the past is changing as the world around them changes, and they have realised that they can do something about it,

Of course, my comments are based on anecdotal evidence which is not factual. But that is the impression I got having spent around 4 months discussing politics with the young staff members in hospital.

But I hope your prediction is the correct one... because the quality of their lives depend on engaging with politics.

DiamondLily But there are ways of managing immigration (of which refugees are a tiny part, of course) without being actively cruel, and breaking international law at the same time.

But instead of starting a sensible and informed debate about immigration, these two are pandering to - and fostering - xenophobia and racism.

It’s coming back to bite one of them, at least, since I see 21% of Tory voters (and I suspect a higher percentage of Tory members) think having a white PM is very important.

They won’t. Breathe .... ?

It’s not just some of the young who are apathetic, I know a few older ones too.

When you consider that the future of this country, for the next 18 months at least, will be decided by a few, middle class, mainly older Tory men, can’t help but feel quite powerless. Apathy is understandable because however engaged you are about politics the dysfunctional system remains.

As I’ve mentioned before, the powerful influencers of the outcome in elections are the tabloids. Just glance at a few of their headlines.

God help us if they ever have a death penalty referendum.

Oh dear, feeling a bit despondent today…….

PS. Both of them voted in the referendum.

My children, both in their 20s, are very interested in politics too. My daughter's job means she can't be as involved as she was, but my son is about to start a masters in public policy and is very politically aware.

rosie1959

My children have very little interest in politics they haven't got the time or the inclination.
My son probably has a little more interest especially now he runs his own company but with the daily run of full time work balancing childcare and household tasks politics comes pretty low down the list

My children have more interest in politics than they used to, but their discussions, limited though they still are, focus on the fact that they feel no party has their best interests at heart and that the parties’ self interests are only either getting into power or staying in power rather than actually doing anything for the people.
Even my DGD, desperate to buy a house, dismisses their promises as ‘easily broken’ and says any failure to achieve is always blamed on the voters and the other parties.
Such cynicism in the young.

Dickens

... Good Morning Urms!

If 'a week is a long time in politics', then 18 months is... well... a virtual lifetime away .

I just wish there wasn't so much voter apathy. Especially among the young. I've spoken to too many young people who say things like, "Oh, I don't really bother about politics". A young nurse asked me a few weeks back if Boris Johnson was a Labour or Conservative MP . I'm relieved she knows more about nursing...

Universal Suffrage was a hard-won battle (especially for women). They must be sighing in their graves and doing an eye-roll.

I don’t agree, all the young people I know are very interested in politics, one thing the Covid pandemic, and now all the scandals and the cost of living and environmental crisis has done is really ramp it up in their minds. They talk about it all the time on our family Facebook group, and two under thirties I know have joined the Labour Party in the last few months.
I think that the apathy they have shown in the past is changing as the world around them changes, and they have realised that they can do something about it,

Zonne

I see that with regard to refugees this is now a race to the bottom.

They are punting for votes from Tory members.

Tory members say one of their biggest priorities is to stop most immigration, especially those coming over the Channel.

The two candidates will promise whatever they feel will bring them the most votes.?

I see that with regard to refugees this is now a race to the bottom.

I can see why some are too taken up with their hectic lives to think about politics and there isn't any point in casting a vote at random, with no idea what you are voting for.
Do none of these people see how their lives are affected by politics, though?
I'd have thought Brexit would have brought it home to people, at least.

The 'party' was a gathering, of course, that's the point since gathering was illegal at the time and anyone caught doing so was being fined while the rest of us stayed in isolation from each other.

My children have very little interest in politics they haven't got the time or the inclination.
My son probably has a little more interest especially now he runs his own company but with the daily run of full time work balancing childcare and household tasks politics comes pretty low down the list