The Boris thing?

[davepoth]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-486625/Pas...

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/bendy-buses--the-fa...

http://crapwalthamforest.blogspot.co.uk/2009/12/cy...

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20120724...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1271855/Pe...

http://www.thisisbath.co.uk/Bus-crash-OAP-s-leg-am...

Maybe not cyclists, but they are a bit accident prone to say the least.

[Silver]

davepoth said:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-486625/Pas...

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/bendy-buses--the-fa...

http://crapwalthamforest.blogspot.co.uk/2009/12/cy...

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20120724...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1271855/Pe...

http://www.thisisbath.co.uk/Bus-crash-OAP-s-leg-am...

Maybe not cyclists, but they are a bit accident prone to say the least.

Well yes, I don't dispute that bendy buses are rubbish, but you did say that replacing them would kill less cyclists and seeing as we were talking about London and Boris Johnson, I didn't expect stats to be brought in for Malta and Birmingham.

I'm actually quite glad to see the back of bendy buses. The way they had carte blanche to block junctions and pedestrian crossings used to piss me off and the were too large for the City.

[tubbystu]

Pesty said:

tubbystu said:

Well, he did promise to, and then did, get rid of the abhorred stupid bendy-buses.

Is that it? all you can think of?

Ok I'm sure this is popular I've heard people talk of it but was it good to do?

Pesty said:

how much did it cost

Lots

Pesty said:

do they run on time

Central London busses run so frequently it would be hard to tell.

Pesty said:

are they easy to use

Open deck rear access, hop-on/ hop-off in H&S mad 2012

Pesty said:

are they always full.

Central London busses always have good occupancy in normal hours.

Pesty said:

etc etc

They don't cause traffic log jams by blocking London's medieval street based layout, and they don't seem to catch fire like the bendy-busses did. They also revive the classic Routemaster open deck and are a new tourist attraction in themselves - the iconic London bus for the 21st C.

It was a no brainer as a vote teaser because Ken's bendy-busses just didn't work in central London.

[Caulkhead]

Pesty said:

Caulkhead said:

Your wife's reason for voting for Blair are as credible as the reasons you've given so far why you don't like Boris. Neither of you seem concerned with ability or policy, she liked suits Blair's suits, you dislike Boris' personality.

Yes good point. He should be judged on his merits rather than if he makes you smile.

If he did run for PM I would listen him and look at his record. I would not judge him by how the media/PR team or indeed himself wishes us to see him.

What are his successes so far apart from not being the Labour guy?

I'm not a Londoner, but he certainly seems to have cleared up a lot of the unnecessary roles and wasteful tax spending (like Ken's £120k a year PA/girlfriend), but his real strength seems to be stopping the daft ideas like bendy buses, the western extension of the congestion charging zone, a 50% target for affordable housing, a plan to pedestrianise Parliament Square, a proposed £25 congestion charge for the most polluting cars and in particular the stalinist official newspaper and PR sheet the Londoner. Personally I like his alcohol on public transport ban and his enthusiasm has undoubtedly added to the olympics.

PM is of course an entirely different thing and I'd like to see a Conservative government run by Cameron before I see Boris in the role as we haven't had a tory govt for 15 years and in a coalition you really can't tell whether he's any good or not.

[davepoth]

Silver said:

Well yes, I don't dispute that bendy buses are rubbish, but you did say that replacing them would kill less cyclists and seeing as we were talking about London and Boris Johnson, I didn't expect stats to be brought in for Malta and Birmingham.

I'm actually quite glad to see the back of bendy buses. The way they had carte blanche to block junctions and pedestrian crossings used to piss me off and the were too large for the City.

Stretching it a bit, but the Maltese buses came from London. They hate them as much as London did.

[AJS-]

Maybe tell us what you don't like about him?

I think he's intelligent, yet in his bumbling idiot act, quite humble and refreshingly lacks the vanity of the slicker, media driven politicians typified by Blair and Cameron, who I think many people are sick of.

[B Huey]

AJS- said:

Maybe tell us what you don't like about him?

I think it's all an act and have no idea what the real Boris is like.

[toppstuff]

OzzyR1 said:

sday12 said:

It's called a point of view. Please, take time to read it.

Pistonheads, know for its tolerance, liberalism and socially cohesive attitudes.

Oh, no, wait.

I have read it thanks.

Just see it for the piece it is, a typical Guardian report adhering to their readership. I could post a Boris arse-licking article from the Torygraph but won't bother, you have to take all media at face-value and realise that they are spinning it for the people who buy their papers.

For what it's worth, I have no real problem with Boris as the alternatives in the two main parties are equally as dire if not worse. Would prefer a decent, charismatic and honest PM to any of the above though, which includes Boris, Cameron, Millband and the majority of the cabinet and shadow-cabinet.

Maybe more a view on the state of British politics and those representing it at the moment than anything else.

Edited by OzzyR1 on Sunday 5th August 12:34

I've just read it too. It's the usual , highly predictable polemic from The Guardian aimed precisely at their faithful audience. Just fluff and opinion with no substance. Even discounting it for its obvious agenda, it's a pretty rubbish piece of writing.

And what of Boris? I'm not sure. The jury is out and undecided. I have no problem with his obvious background of privilege. I don't know enough about his achievements to judge him on delivery.

But he is clearly very intelligent. This makes a change. With so many frontline politicians being pretty grey and really rather stupid, having a PM who is the smartest guy in the room would be a good thing IMO.

[CommanderJameson]

I think we should road-test Johnson before getting him in as PM.

There are a number of front-bench positions where, quite frankly, a cardboard crisp box (with a smiley face drawn on it) could do better.

We could start with the Exchequer.

[Derek Smith]

Silver said:

Anyone who thinks Boris Johnson doesn't lie needs to examine their facts a little more closely. He was sacked from the Times for making up a quote and is pretty notorious for his porkies while in office as mayor (on transport, fares, cutting police numbers, affordable homes and crime statistics to name but a few).

I think he's done a lot of good things for London and he's very likeable, but it's easy to let his public persona fool you into thinking he's a bumbling good guy who speaks his mind, doesn't toe the party line yada yada. But a lot of what he does is very calculated and he plays very much on his image.

As I pointed out in the other Boris thread, he's also well-known for evading questions - even his own biographer, Sonia Purnell, was cold-shouldered and she's not the only one albeit the latter is biased.

In the other thread I said too about my own attempts to ask him questions and how I was Teflon'd off and kept away by the PR people (they did answer the questions I put to them via email but it was all very bland and copy/paste). He is very much the same in MQT and resorts to belittling or ignoring people who ask him awkward questions.

The opposition to him in London is larger than you might imagine and he got elected this year by not as great a majority as he probably would have liked.

Despite all this, I have a lot more sympathy for him than many other people I know and get pretty bored with the relentless Boris-bashing from the left (Dave Hill of the Guardian is an offender here). Had I been able to vote for him, I would have, but a lot of that was because I detested Ken Livingstone, Paddick is a nonentity and I disagreed with Jenny Jones' stance on motoring and the Green Party's hopeless proposal for road pricing in London.

I do not believe he will be PM or leader of the Tory party. He is a favourite because he has public support and superficial popularity but neither of those make a good PM and I don't believe that Boris would be good PM. He's no different to any other politician and anyone who thinks he is is deluding themselves.

Thanks for an interesting post.

I'd disagree with your last sentance to an extent. I'd modify it to suggest that he's identical to all other ambitious politicians. My local one will make himself available, will answer questions (how off the wall is that?) and doesn't lie to anything like the extent of Johnson.

If Johnson is the best the tories can come up with as a replacement for Cameron then it is in a dreadful state.

The links you provided in your post are consistent and revealing.

Has anyone any idea what the man stands for, what his policies are and where he will take the tory party? He's an image, ephemeral, transparent. If anything, he's a mirror, reflecting opinions. His buffoonery is an act in exactly the same way as Blair's man of the people.

Johnson comes over as interested in one thing and one thing only: Johnson.

[turbobloke]

Derek Smith said:

If Johnson is the best the tories can come up with as a replacement for Cameron then it is in a dreadful state.

[AJS-]

B Huey said:

AJS- said:

Maybe tell us what you don't like about him?

I think it's all an act and have no idea what the real Boris is like.

I would say that's true of nearly all politicians, and certainly any "successful" ones. Successful career wise, rather than what they actually do for the country.

[grumbledoak]

tubbystu said:

Make a few key electoral promises, keep them and make sure everybody knows.

I love the way the leftie posters on these threads gloss over 'little things' like this. Personally I think them quite important.

By way of contrast, let's do the strap line for Livingscum. How about 'Promise anything you need to get elected, employ your mates, use public funds for propaganda and further campaigning, then do whatever you want.' You can make your own up for Blair and Brown, I challenge you to use the phrases "electoral promises" and "keep them" in similar fashion.

[Gargamel]

Derek Smith said:

Johnson comes over as interested in one thing and one thing only: Johnson.

Come off it Derek, you could replace Johnson name there with just about any politician of the last 15 or 20 years.

How many Conviction politicians can you think of ?

Keir Hardy, Bevan, Enoch Powell, Thatcher, Shriley Williams at a stretch, That terrible old Trott Benn and possible Dennis Skinner.

Not exactly a great list is it.

[Rude-boy]

I don't want BoJo as PM.

I want him inside the fold keeping the others honest in his own little way and through the fear that he is more popular than all of them together.

I have been lucky enough to met a number of people similar to him. First glace might make to you think that they are a soft and fluffy bumbler, dig a little deeper and you see behind the façade is a will of iron and no qualms about using cold hard steel if and when required.

[HorneyMX5]

I lived in Henley during his time as MP there and he did a really job and I met him on a few occasions through my Mum's work and he was a geniunely really interesting chap. Henley were gutted to see him go to London for the job as mayor.

Nick

[davepoth]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/olympic...

Seems they're talking about it in DC anyway...

[MiniMan64]

Two friends and a wife I know who all vote Labour and strongly dislike the Tories/Cameron have all said they'd happyily vote for Boris as Prime Minister.

Most odd the effect he has.

[sday12]

Rude-boy said:

I don't want BoJo as PM.

I want him inside the fold keeping the others honest in his own little way and through the fear that he is more popular than all of them together.

I have been lucky enough to met a number of people similar to him. First glace might make to you think that they are a soft and fluffy bumbler, dig a little deeper and you see behind the façade is a will of iron and no qualms about using cold hard steel if and when required.

Fnarr.

[davepoth]

sday12 said:

Rude-boy said:

I don't want BoJo as PM.

I want him inside the fold keeping the others honest in his own little way and through the fear that he is more popular than all of them together.

I have been lucky enough to met a number of people similar to him. First glace might make to you think that they are a soft and fluffy bumbler, dig a little deeper and you see behind the façade is a will of iron and no qualms about using cold hard steel if and when required.

Fnarr.

"They don't like it up 'em"