Boris Johnson was ‘the most left wing Tory leader since Macmillan’ | How to Win an Election
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 13 มิ.ย. 2024
- “In many ways, Boris Johnson was the most left wing leader of the Conservative Party since Macmillan.”
Rishi Sunak’s refusal to set his policies apart from that of Liz Truss and Boris Johnson is setting himself up for failure, says Daniel Finkelstein.
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Boris was not left wing, he was a libertarian. He hated the Left almost as much as he hated his own MP's. Boris was a fool, a clown and a liar. This is who he was. Yes, he attracted big headlines, but ultimately, he was politically small in nature and left nothing but chaos in his wake, just like his personal relationships.
He surely had a be a liberal to win 2 elections as London Mayor.
That’s why he was popular in the Tory party, he had a background as a one-nation con along with being pro-Brexit, making the left and right of the party back him.
Yes he was a typical public school anarchist
@@daraorourke5798 They're not very typical actually - but a public school liar is nearer being much more typical.
Lockdown and bloated public sector and govt. spending as bad as ever - yeah very libertarian
Just when I think Times Radio has been starting to act with some journalistic self-respect - and just a little respect for British people and democracy, ...
This happens
@@FreedomStrike76well it is Murdoch media.
@@FreedomStrike76 agreed - but strangely they do some really good segments, sometimes
that was clever@@robertdavidson8028
Come off it - It's msm. Journalistic self - respect gets you sacked, or you get disillusioned and leave to become an independent journalist (if you have the courage and confidence). Then, when you die (as John Pilger did a fortnight ago) other msm journalists who have stayed within the system for whatever reason - different political outlook, timidity, fear, or lack of integrity, make grudging and inaccurate appraisals of you and your life's work (as has happened to him).
Let's see if whatever phenomenon it is - maybe just a faulty comment section or, alternatively, someone moderating this site - reoccurs and makes it invisible without actually removing it, which is what happened to my previous comment, believe it or not, and which this one is now replacing, as I discovered what had happened a few minutes ago when I returned to make another comment above - something that is strange, and also something I've never experienced before. Spooky!
What planet are these people from 😂
Blimey, it's like a room full of the most insufferable people possible who are all getting high off of their own hot air.
Boris Johnson the most left wing Tory Prime Minister......What?
Compared to what we voted for... Johnson is an internationalist liberal, not a conservative.
He killed 30,000 geriartric ladies
A member of the Bullington club is clearly not left wing. Even May was less right wing the Johnson.
Left wing means centrist within the Tory party
Boris wasn't left wing he was the ducks backside.
How intelligent. An Indian businessman I was acquainted with called him a "brat".
I don't think Starmer saying Thatcher brought about 'meaningful change' is the same thing as saying he admires her. I could probably say the same thing about the most diabolical figures in history, doesn't mean I want to take them out for a pint.
Wishful thinking. Starmer is a dyed in the wool Blairite now, and he admired Thatcher.
@@dnmurphy48This hate for Starner from the left of Labour is just embarrassing. He will win with what will probably be a large majority, and the left will become even more irrelevant.
No candidate is ever perfect, you just slowly move society along what you think is a better path. Slowly over generations.
Wanting super socialism right now by way of stomping one's feet will only serve to alienate people from your cause.
😂😂😂 MacMillan didn’t destroy the polity.
What an incredibly silly thing to say. Johnson was far from left wing
I mean, what shall they do? Tell the truth? That would destroy everything they want. So, yeah, they keep lying, that's their thing.
He had no belief i market economics and spent money like water on welfare. he was certainly no Thatcherite. A weak, old school populist of no real political persuasion.
His spending and investment policy was slightly to the left of new labour
@@TimesFM4532 That doesn't make it left wing, does it?
But he WAS Murdoch’s choice.
He lives in LA and still pulls your chain. Doh!.
The concept of 'left wing' or 'right wing' Tories is surely outdated. More recently, the spectrum only stretches from Brexit fundamentalists to amoral narcissists. Any comparisons with Macmillan are pointless - like comparing Eisenhower with current Republicans.
On what planet can Macmillan be described as 'left wing'? You might be able to make an argument that Boris was the most centerist primeminister since Macmillan but even that would be a stretch.
Political left an right is clearly defined, though right wingers like this channel for example, of course will lie about that as much as possible.
Why?
Because political right stands for brutal elitism that exploits the masses while political left stands for egalitarian systems = general human rights.
So if you want to push a right wing agenda, you HAVE to lie.
Else it's like being a corrupt car salesman who wants to sell worthless scrap who is telling the truth to those he wants to rob = doesn't work, obviously.
typical left ranting with little basis in reality. What left-wing fascists like you forget is 1 - many voters for Brexit were working class and former labour supporters. 2 - Tory policies are mainly left of centre - even your beloved EU has woken up to the need to deal with illegal immigrants. They increase welfare and pensions, they spend more each year on NHS and taxes are increasing each year. They are almost indistinguishable from Starmer. I have noticed the tendency amongst your kind to talk i slogans and outdated cliches.
@@MrDeadhead1952they are talking about within the Conservative Party
Being left wing means being a centrist
Being right wing means being far right
As far as I am aware MacMilan was more left-wing than probably any other Tory leader post 1945, certainly he was keen on state intervention in the economy.
But if you think another Tory leader was more left wing on the Tory political spectrum than he was let me know.
"Crafted with evidence and pragmatism by Michael Gove"
I nearly fell off my chair laughing at that nonsense.
It was his character that was the problem, not his political orientation.
I disagree - I think both were - they were inextricably linked anyway; his brand of Toryism is buccaneering and opportunist; also without any moral compass, which pretty much describes the majority in the party anyway.
Wish this was longer, thanks for the episode.
Utter madness
That title is pure bait.
Never watch any online discussion which has peter mandelson on it.
Has the Times turned into Fox News or something? The Tories are all WELL right of center. Cameron is center-right, his austerity debacle was classic right-wing policy. Johnson is an amoral populist who is very much on the Right of English politics. Truss is closer to a far-right libertarian. Rishi too only just generally hopeless.
Such desperation amongst the fascist left.
@@dnmurphy48 justify how the left are fascists?
Poor journalism, anyone who has read the piece knows it mentions Thatcher in one sentence. A "love in", much like the Telegraph editor who came up with the headline it's suits the political narrative of your employer.....that's it! The reality is he said she knew what she wanted to do and did it. That's it! He didn't praise Thatcherite ideology or the policies of the 1980s. Hyperbolic journalism to feed a false narrative ......he is looking for wayward support from the ranks of the Telegraph readership ....he's hardly going win overall wayward voter by yelling Thatcher was one of the most divisive Prime Ministers of the 20thC is he? Thatcher love in ...for fecks sake 😂😂😂
I do not agree that Johnson had much in common with Macmillan. Johnson did not build council houses and Macmillan did not cause anything like the economic damage of Johnson. Macmillan would despise the nationalism around Brexit and he would despise the egotism of Johnson.
"Macmillan would despise the nationalism around Brexit" No. Macmillan would have been horrified at the idea of Britain being subsumed into a European superstate. Oswald Mosley would have approved of the EU, though.
@@dogglebird4430 I think I need to give you history lesson. Macmillan made the first application for the UK to join the EEC in the early 1960s and received abuse from a small nationalistic band of backbenchers similar to modern day Brexiters. He did so knowing full well that the path was for a united states of Europe. Mr Churchill announced that such a thing was coming and declared his support for it at the Conservative Party Conference in 1953. I am sure that Macmillan and indeed Mr Heath and the then Margaret Roberts were also listening.
@@adampowell5376 "Macmillan made the first application for the UK to join the EEC" - I know - and he was prevented by de Gaulle. I don't need your history lesson. But that was the EEC which, back then, was five or six western European countries and it was primarily a trade bloc with a few extras. Yes, I know the Treaty of Rome suggested the EEC would be a first step towards greater integration, but I remember Mac and I can't believe for a moment he would have approved of the over-powerful and anti-democratic behemoth that we now see in Brussels. He certainly never intimated that he would have wanted the UK to be absorbed into a United States of Europe. The only UK politician who was openly keen on that idea was Oswald Mosley.
MacMillan was a failure
Can you please define "left wing"?
'To secure for the workers by hand or by brain the full fruits of their industry and the most equitable distribution thereof that may be possible upon the basis of the common ownership of the means of production, distribution and exchange, and the best obtainable system of popular administration and control of each industry or service.' I'm pretty sure Johnson have never supported that.
And everything else is far right.
Johnson promised whatever he thought would be popular, that doesn't make him. leftwing.
The Tory party is a dead duck, it's time for a General Election so that we can get a competent leadership team in. Not some toff "head boy" who is cosplaying Prime Minister.
Where do you think a competent team will come from?
Boris Johnson, on the Tory left? The last big hitter on the genuine Tory left, was Michael Heseltine. The Tory left of the 2010s and 2020s, heavily overlaps with the Tory right of the 1980s and 1990s.
Left wing? Hes far right fools.
Johnson the eton old boy a left wing conservative? Dopey!
Peter Mandelson is such a weasel.
John Major's political stances and policies were a blend of conservative and left-wing ideals. He was more socially progressive than many other Conservative leaders, but he also maintained a commitment to market-based economics. His legacy is one of pragmatism and moderation, and he is seen as a significant figure in British political history.
See by whom? he was an abject failure, a weak, petulant ma who could not handle the EEC as was. Thatcher was respected by the Europeans, Major wasn't.
Sunak is a traditional conservative. He wants to defend traditional power structures. That’s it. There is nothing else.
Johnson is a right wing libertarian.
Yep, I just laugh at people who claim he was somehow 'rigjt wing!
You misheard..What happened was the Tory jollyboys went for a chicken meal, Boris was left with a wing ..That's what happened
Boris had the knack of being a good communicator, Sunak does not have that talent. So I think Boris was not left wing but not extreme right wing either. Times is a more neutral newspaper but coming from the right myself I do not always follow its views.The lefty side of things is shown by its commentators.
Bye Johnson bye Truss bye Sunak. GENERAL ELECTION NOW!!!!!
I want to be dragged backed to Brexit so we can undo that truly awful decision.
.....too late I'm afraid. The best we can do is make a different arrangement. In any case, the EU has many problems itself nowadays. I'm not sure how much good that would do.
@robertdavidson8028 it would cause a near instant uptick in economic growth and investment. But you’re right it likely is too late to rejoin in any short period but I suspect the first hurdle, of getting Labour or the tories to move realise that the country wants to rejoin, will be the most difficult to overcome.
@@Adam-pt3cb Given the parlous state of the leadership of both parties I think nobody is likely to have the guts to try; Starmer's instincts are too woefully timid, and and he's also constrained by a lack of imagination as are many of his team, which don't strike me as being particularly talented, despite his assertions to the contrary; unless the right of the Tories loses a lot of influence I don't think they're likely to want to rejoin any time soon; I'm guessing that, apart from dreading the short-term and their election prospects, they're hoping that Starmer screws up asap and are already trying to think of ways to separate as much of the electorate from as much of their money as possible again, and transfer it to themselves, their projects, or their wealthy backers etc. if they get another chance in five years or so.
As far as the EU is concerned, things may have changed I suppose, but I can recall commentators saying that the union might not be in such a hurry to welcome us back in any case; we were rather trucculent and recalcitrant members, always moaning, and I'm not sure that the current wars are likely to be helping, as I think there are more member - state unhappinesses and threats of other exits, (Nexit etc.) than ever nowadays. So I don't think much is going to change for a while, though I'd like to be proved wrong.
He was slightly to the left of Blair
Excellent strategic analysis, Starmer and his advisers realised that for labour to be credible they had to cut Corbyn out which ironically Blair considered but didn’t act upon. Sunak to gain credibility with the electorate should cut Johnson out, which should be easier given Johnson’s left Parliament and he is likely to torpedo himself at the Covid enquiry this week, possibly the last opportunity. However, Sunak should have acted last year because it is likely to be too late now, and would be seen has an act of desperation.
And truss too?
I don't get Sunak. Like he helped bully Johnson and Truss into quitting. But then he brings back Cameron the looser. Why? Is he anti brexit now?
The real issue is that there is no difference between Labour or the Tories. Neither has a "Thatcher" like agenda. At least Corbyn (though wrong) a clear direction
why are british soldiers on the ground in gaza.?
They are not - go away Hamas
oh yes they are idf..they have been identified.@@dnmurphy48
Left wing? 😂😂😂😂
Now I'm going to have to watch this damned video just to see how that gets justified. If it turns out to be something as basic as the (true but obvious) observation that Johnson lacked an principles at all beyond whatever he thought would be best for him I'm going to be very disappointed...
OK, only three minutes in and they're not going to, are they? I'm out...
They covered it at the three minute mark. Johnson promised a big expansion of the state, large real-terms increases in spending, explicit and implicit tax increases to fund them.
Whether these are ‘left wing’, or indeed ‘left wing’ in comparison to recent Tory leaders, things is up to you - and is questioned by another person on the panel.
@@glassmuxxic I think that’s pretty tenuous in the full context of the circumstances he faced. He was forced into statist solutions to the pandemic that were manifestly contrary to his personal preferences and many of his spending commitments (more police officers and nurses, new hospitals that were never going to be built) were forced on him as a result of the austerity measures his own party applied earlier in their time in power. You could describe some of Thatcher’s policies in terms that broad and claim she was left-wing, too (her vendetta against local government led to significant strengthening of central government and by shifting the emphasis of taxation from earnings to spending she massively increased the tax burden for a lot of people.
@@chrispalmer7893 Many of those big state solutions were included in the 2019 election manifesto. The wild uncosted promises went unremarked upon because HM opposition's were so much larger.
Boris Johnson promised spending projects in order to get ordinary people to vote for him. The Tories never were going to do any of this. They consistently favor their cronies and plutocrat donors. This panel cannot admit this because they are owned by the plutocrats as well.
I'd possibly even go further and say that John Major is the most left wing Prime Minister we've had in my time alive. Not to say he's left wing. he's not, but relative to the political class...
I'm not sure when you were born, but both Harold Wilson and most definitely Michael Foot were definitely to the left of him. Clement Attlee's Government was a good way to the left of him or them, but I'm pretty sure he was well before your time. Politics veered to the right in this country with Thatcher and the rise of the Neo Cons, which is why it is less meaningful to talk about the"Centre ground of Politics" than it might be; the centre ground changes with time, and from country to country, so the centre ground in England is to the right of centre ground in Wales or Scotland ; N.Ireland is a whole different matter. However, many commentators agree that Neo Liberalism has come to the end of its road - we're just unable to kick the habit and move on to something more progressive in the west - but capitalism as we experience it is failing again and again.
"most left wing" lol click bait BS
People please, stop delving into the past, look at what is happening today and look towards the future to keep the UK from becoming an Islamic State. Sunak needs a brass pair to save Great Britain.
Too late for that. The failure to control them on their anti-semitic Hamas marches, because the police were too afraid of their violence, has shown them the way, I advise all British Jews to leave within the next ten years, all non-Muslims need to consider their positions during the next 20 years. In 50 or less we will be a Muslim majority and an Islamo-fascist state.
THANK GOD I LEFT
There's nothing quite like a bit of doom-mongering, islamaphobia and right wing crowd - scaring, is there? Now --
@fnyack off!
Neither the rate of immigration nor population growth within the Islamic population already here offers any support at all to your conclusion that this will be an Islamic state. If you're going to make a statement like that, produce some figures to prove it - I should be surprised if you could produce figures that even suggested it.
The proportion of Muslims in the UK population is 6.5%. Nearly 94% of us aren't Muslim. Now let's see YOUR figures - mine come from the census.
The current government is Labour mark². That's the problem
Ok smoothbrain
Stick to news, your recent attempts at comedy prove it is not your thing...
At least in my time, surely John Major was by far the most left wing Prime Minister in the UK.