TheOstrich wrote:Given that Labour is now showing a 3% poll advantage over the Conservatives per the Evening Standard (and tying in many others) ....
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politic ... 57106.html... which has to be a huge indictment of BoJo and his Government over their handling of the Covid crisis?
Well, there a few things to deal with here.
Given the consistently hostile press towards the government (and that's before we consider the BBC and Ch4 news) it is hardly surprising that Labour have finally managed to get a lead in one poll (was it YouGov btw?).
I do wonder if the spotlight was cast onto Labour and the likes of Dawn Butler, Nadia Whittome, Annelise Dodds etc how long the Labour lead would actually last?
A huge indictment of BoJo and his lot? Yes, they haven't handled it well at all. But given that they are listening to public service employees like Whitty, Vallence and Van Tam etc - would a Labour government have done anything differently? Because surely they would be listening to the same advice from exactly the same people?
It's hard to know if Labour would have done anything better because although they are quick to say that the Tories are rubbish and they are doing everything wrong, they seem to fall very silent when they are asked what the Labour party would do!
So no. Keir Starmer is profiting by the fact that the media is overwhelmingly on his side and the fact that he is very much the "I'm not Boris Johnson" candidate. Whether he will be able to maintain his lead when he is asked to actually say what he will do - who knows?
Starmer was responsible for Labour's Brexit policy of "constructive ambiguity", which meant never being tied down to anything. Say one thing to one audience, another to another, and I expect when an election rolls round he'll do the same again. He will imo need all the help he can get from the media mouthing phrases like "forensic intelligence" and "Prime Minister in waiting" that he can get.
Btw I don't expect Johnson to be in charge of the Tory party for the next election.