Politics Today

[Rosencrantz]

Thanks for that Elgy old friend - I had to stop halfway through for a coffee Like most I've watched Boris' bumbling on TV and have been less than impressed (I've heard better militant Taffy/Jock conveners speaking outside the Austin Rover gates here in Swindon). However, like a ships captain taking his vessel through the Panama Canal he's heavily reliant on the pilots/advisers for expert guidance in order to accomplish the tasks set before him. Thatcher and Churchill sent the military to war but did not participate in its planning which was left initially to people like Portal, Alanbrooke and Sir Dudley Pound. Ultimately the buck stops with him whether the so-called planning experts let him down or not.

Who'd be your ideal replacement?

Took a lot of will power for Winston not to get involved! It was he who pushed for the disastrous Norwegian campaign early on in the war as First Lord of the Admiralty which I think tempered his involvement when he became PM although he certainly put his two pennyworth in. I can recommend Nicholas Shakespeare's "Six Minutes in May" for a good read surrounding Churchill's elevation to PM despite the Norway fiasco.

As for a replacement now, you probably need some boring bugger much like the Broon who did what was needed in 2008 or a Major type. Hard to see anyone alike on the Tory side who is competent also (Gove maybe as Sunak is still new to the game). Starmer would be a shoo-in on the opposite side.

 

[spanky]

If Johnson, and his supporters, insist on these ridiculous comparisons with Churchill, then I'm obliged to point out C-19 as his "Bangal famine".

And if Johnson is comparable to Churchill, then Trump is the Dalai Feckin Lama.

 

[IndoMike]

Mike's gone for the rather forbidding Michael Gove.

From the Tory Party I can't think of anyone better. You think he's forbidding?
I don't. He's smart. A bit of a snake in the world of politics but that's irrelevant. He's smart. Raab is a dimwit.

 

[IndoMike]

Churchill made some mistakes, but he wasn't afraid to take responsibility. In my opinion Johnson is a coward, whereas Churchill was courageous from a very young age.
I wouldn't trust Johnson as far as I could throw him. He just wants attention, recognition and a good time. Churchill was
dedicated and extremely intelligent : Johnson is a playboy politician. Shouldn't be mentioned in the same breath as Winston

 

[IndoMike]

Trump's narcissism has taken a new twist. And now he has American blood on his hands | Jonathan Freedland

The US president has been exposed by the coronavirus crisis. The only small comfort for the rest of the world is that he’s not their leader, says Guardian columnist Jonathan Freedland

www.theguardian.com

Absolute nail on head regarding Trump.
The Devil's Advocate is he.

 

[elginCity]

Thanks for that Elgy old friend - I had to stop halfway through for a coffee Like most I've watched Boris' bumbling on TV and have been less than impressed (I've heard better militant Taffy/Jock conveners speaking outside the Austin Rover gates here in Swindon). However, like a ships captain taking his vessel through the Panama Canal he's heavily reliant on the pilots/advisers for expert guidance in order to accomplish the tasks set before him. Thatcher and Churchill sent the military to war but did not participate in its planning which was left initially to people like Portal, Alanbrooke and Sir Dudley Pound. Ultimately the buck stops with him whether the so-called planning experts let him down or not.

Who'd be your ideal replacement?

Yes, mate, I did drone on a bit, sorry about that, an emotive time and I'm very angry, hope you enjoyed your coffee.

Thing is, a week or so before you lot were getting a semi over your Brexit bongs and the 50p bit displayed proudly in your avatar, the UK had already received serious warnings from the MRC Centre briefing on 22 January ... “It’s essential that the entire health system is alert to the possibility that there will be cases here." and a WHO statement on 29 January - 'Whole world must be on alert'. Then, lo and behold, the first COVID cases arrived in the UK late January. The Ship's captain takes specialist advice, yes, but it is he who is responsible for the course and speed of approach.

Admittedly, the floods were a distraction in February, all while the Captain disappeared for a couple of weeks, but 2 months later still no adequate PPE sorted for the front line NHS. Basic stuff, Stuffers. Anyone who has ever been to war would have empathy for the NHS, and many more that haven't would also, it's a frightening place to be.

My ideal replacement would be Keir Starmer heading up a GNU, a government I'd trust to act in the national interest. You ?

 

[Stuffy]

Churchill made some mistakes, but he wasn't afraid to take responsibility. In my opinion Johnson is a coward, whereas Churchill was courageous from a very young age.
I wouldn't trust Johnson as far as I could throw him. He just wants attention, recognition and a good time. Churchill was
dedicated and extremely intelligent : Johnson is a playboy politician. Shouldn't be mentioned in the same breath as Winston

I fully agree that Churchill was the right man for the job when he took over from Chamberlain. However, he wasn't altogether popular as Chamberlain himself found out when he found himself seated between the Queen and the Duchess of Kent at a Buckingham Palace dinner party. Apparently both ladies spent the evening urging him, in no uncertain terms, not to bring Winston Churchill into the government. The Queen was one of many powerful people who loathed Churchill at the time. Incidently it was Winston who badgered Chamberlain to get involved in the Norway fiasco even though the British Army lacked ski troops.The biggest let-down was that our French comrades turned up with their skis over their shoulders but no straps to fasten them to their feet rendering them totally useless. Still, that planning wasn't Winston or Chamberlain's fault.

 

[Alistair20000]

Who has been suggesting Boris J is a second Churchill ?

No suggestion of that in his broadcast last week.

 

[Oldsmobile-88]

Who has been suggesting Boris J is a second Churchill ?

No suggestion of that in his broadcast last week.

I thought he looked a bit tired & had a slight haunted look about him.Certainly no jingoism,it was a measured solemn broadcast.

 

[Rosencrantz]

Who has been suggesting Boris J is a second Churchill ?

No suggestion of that in his broadcast last week.

Sexton a couple of pages ago (I think seriously but could be mistaken ).

I thought he looked a bit tired & had a slight haunted look about him.Certainly no jingoism,it was a measured solemn broadcast.

He is trying his best I think but being serious for a sustained period does not come naturally. He might already have been under the covid-19 bug at the time but being knackered and stressed hid it (or possibly helped it). Still think you need a boring sod like Broon or Major through a time like this.