Could Boris still become PM:

[Dr Lobster*]

boris has great comedy value, but he'd be a disaster as PM.

to be honest, i find most of the tory party pretty loathsome, the only one i can really tolerate is nick clegg, oh and ken clarke speaks a bit of sense too from time to time.

i'd be very surprised if the tory party aren't obliterated in a massive landslide next election, they seem more unpopular than labour ever were, even in the dying days of gordon brown.

[dosxuk]

i'd be very surprised if the tory party aren't obliterated in a massive landslide next election, they seem more unpopular than labour ever were, even in the dying days of gordon brown.

The problem is that Labour are no more likable than they were then.

Boris has a good chance of becoming PM if ever in the position to do so, primarily because he's a buffoon. He's no worse than any of our current leadership, but at least he's amusing while he's busy cocking up our lives.

[Critique]

After watching the little speech from Boris at the Victory Parade this afternoon, and watching him say 'You got more medals than France, more medals than Germany!', I would say that International Relations wouldn't be his strong suit.

[bilky asko]

Being a boring, droning bugger has stopped politicians - William Hague, for example.

On the contrary, I find Hague to be at least one of the more acceptable faces of modern Conservatism. Look up some of his PMQ stand-in performances against John Prescott to find out just how "droning" and "boring" he is.

Besides, Foreign Secretary? Hardly political obscurity is it?

I personally like him (being boring or droning doesn't put me off), but I don't think people saw him as PM material. Sad, but true.

As for Boris being more electable than Miliband, well in a recent poll, 55% of respondents said that having Boris instead of CallMeDave would make no difference to their voting intention (with the remaining 45% split fairly evenly between preferring Boris and preferring Scameron) so with Labour currently leading the polls by anything between 6 and 13 points at the moment, Miliband is still the preferred (or should that be default?) option.

Political polls always irk me simply because the results are always heavily skewed. Polling companies can easily target certain demographics to achieve a certain result.

I am merely going on my perception. I don't think the malleable, flux-like world of polling accurately affects the real, underlying opinions and trends.

[DVB Cornwall]

Boris has chutzpah, which endears supporters and also attracts others across traditional boundaries, whilst at the same time annoying the heck out of others. Whether this is sufficient to guarantee election I am uncertain but it could be worth trying especially if a sense of desparation sets in.

[Gavin Scott]

What are his policies?

Have characteristics better left to an X Factor audition taken over as the most important element to Conservative voters?

[bilky asko]

What are his policies?

Have characteristics better left to an X Factor audition taken over as the most important element to Conservative voters?

Yes, of course.

[Alexia]

http://ukpollingreport.co.uk/blog/archives/6139

This morning’s YouGov poll for the Sun has topline figures of CON 31%, LAB 44%, LDEM 9%, UKIP 8%. A thirteen point Labour lead is the highest YouGov have shown since the end of June. All the normal caveats apply about reading too much into a poll – sure, it could be a sign of a growing Labour lead as we move away from the holidays and big events of the Summer… or it could just be an outlier. Keep an eye on it.

This morning the Sun also published a fresh set of “how would you vote with Boris as leader?” questions, actually asked as part of yesterday’s YouGov poll. They showed the same pattern we have become familar with in Boris questions since the Olympics began. YouGov first asked a control question asking how people would vote if the present leaders remain in place (this is to isolate the Boris effect from any Miliband or Clegg effect) – this reduced the 11 point Labour lead in YouGov’s poll yesterday to an 8 point lead when Miliband, Cameron and Clegg are mentioned. When people were asked how they would vote with Boris this fell further, down from an 8 point lead to a 1 point Labour lead – CON 37%, LAB 38%, LDEM 11%.

[DVB Cornwall]

What are his policies?

Have characteristics better left to an X Factor audition taken over as the most important element to Conservative voters?

Yes, of course.

Quite right, All parties are restricted with their options bearing in mind the deficit, Balls said as much at the TUC last week, don't forget. You might as well have someone with some Pizzazz presenting the doom and gloom into the next decade, when hopefully things will begin to improve.

[Gavin Scott]

What are his policies?

Have characteristics better left to an X Factor audition taken over as the most important element to Conservative voters?

Yes, of course.

Quite right, All parties are restricted with their options bearing in mind the deficit, Balls said as much at the TUC last week, don't forget. You might as well have someone with some Pizzazz presenting the doom and gloom into the next decade, when hopefully things will begin to improve.

PIFFLE, as Bois would probably say before entertaining himself into laughter.

Things won't get better by chance or hope, and they're patently getting worse with hard austerity.

I don't care what Balls said to the TUC, and I *know* you don't. This would be the first and only time you've ever agreed with what he's said, no? Not terribly convincing as an argument.

If you want pizazz, get tickets for a Liza Minnelli concert.

[DVB Cornwall]

We'll disagree, I for one want this recession to bottom out, so that REAL growth can start, not some QE infused mirage, The only way of doing this is by bearing down a hell of a lot harder than has been done to date on spending of all sorts. I for one have had enough of this clamour for more assistance to generate false demand. As I said above this decade is lost, as will the next unless more severe action is taken.