{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Acast","provider_url":"https://acast.com","height":250,"width":700,"html":"<iframe src=\"https://embed.acast.com/$/9a03fe9e-1ff0-4dcc-b3f6-50bd1f016ea4/33061267-be92-4b37-bb77-b9453d40c6a0?\" frameBorder=\"0\" width=\"700\" height=\"250\"></iframe>","title":"The Incompetence of Boris Johnson","thumbnail_width":200,"thumbnail_height":200,"thumbnail_url":"https://open-images.acast.com/shows/6195701f2eacc3a36070252a/619570bccb3c660012e3cf0f.jpg?height=200","description":"<p>This week we talk about the politics of incompetence: when does it matter and when can politicians get away with it.&nbsp;Have repeated u-turns during the pandemic damaged the government?&nbsp;Has Nicola Sturgeon had a better crisis than Boris Johnson or is it just competence theatre?&nbsp;Is the government's incompetence going to be enough to get Keir Starmer into Downing Street?&nbsp;With Helen Thompson, Chris Brooke and Chris Bickerton.</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Talking Points:</strong></p><p><br></p><p>Competence: does it matter?&nbsp;</p><ul><li>What kinds of incompetence are likely to do this government the most harm?</li><li>There have been a lot of u-turns in the policy and rules around COVID.</li><li>Are these u-turns or is the government improvising in an unprecedented situation?</li><li>The u-turns that do the most harm are those that are seen as a breach of trust.</li></ul><p><br></p><p>The important context for u-turns in British politics is Margaret Thatcher’s 1980 speech to the Conservative Party Conference.</p><ul><li>Her predecessor, Ted Heath, did not stick to the manifesto line in government.</li><li>She actually was making a u-turn in macroeconomic policy, but she had concluded that voters saw pragmatic chopping and changing as incompetence.</li><li>The difficulty for Johnson is that there’s a general perception that the government isn’t entirely on top of things. The competence issue comes back to the surface.</li></ul><p><br></p><p>The internal market bill is being published and it will apparently renege on some aspects of the withdrawal act.</p><ul><li>Being perceived as seeing yourself above international law is a risk for any government.</li><li>In the context of Brexit, this is the consequence of how boxed in the Johnson government was when it came into power.</li></ul><p><br></p><p>COVID has revealed big differences between Westminster and the devolved governments.</p><ul><li>Sturgeon in particular has pitched her government as more competent than the Johnson government.</li><li>Critics of the SNP say that this is theatre.&nbsp;</li><li>But the handling of the pandemic may well feed into the SNP’s pitch heading into what appears to be an increasingly imminent referendum, which they are increasingly confident of winning.</li><li>But it’s not just the pandemic; it’s also the whole Brexit process.</li></ul><p><br></p><p>Can Starmer use competence as a lever? Can you win power through competence?</p><ul><li>The opposition is not in a great place to set the agenda. A number of very important decisions will be made in the next year or so that change the political situation.</li><li>Don’t underestimate the power of the Conservatives to replace Johnson.</li><li>Many of Johnson’s ministers are creatures of his politics.</li><li>What’s interesting about Sunak is that he doesn’t quite fit that template.</li></ul><p><br></p><p><br></p><p>Mentioned in this Episode:</p><ul><li><a href=\"https://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/104431\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Margaret Thatcher’s 1980 speech to the Conservative Party Conference (‘the lady’s not for turning’)</a></li><li><a href=\"https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-scotland-independe/scottish-support-for-independence-rises-as-covid-19-imperils-the-united-kingdom-idUSKCN24P1CZ\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Scottish support for independence rises in the pandemic</a></li><li><a href=\"https://www.talkingpoliticspodcast.com/blog/2019/169-who-is-boris-johnson\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Who is Boris Johnson?</a></li></ul><p><br></p><p>Further Learning:&nbsp;</p><ul><li><a href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/sep/09/internal-market-bill-what-it-says-and-the-uk-hopes-to-achieve\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">More on the Internal Market Bill</a></li><li><a href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/sep/09/the-guardian-view-on-the-internal-market-bill-a-legal-wrecking-ball\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\"><em>The Guardian’s</em> view on the Internal Market...","author_name":"David Runciman and Catherine Carr"}