Raab trails in fourth place in latest YouGov senior cabinet minsters’ favourability rankings
Mike Smithson
That Boris could be so afflicted brings home in a powerful way why the shutdown is necessary
That the man who just four months ago led the Conservatives to their biggest General Election Victory in decades should now be in intensive care with the coronavirus brings home the sheer magnitude of what the world is facing and why governments are going to extraordinary lengths to try to impede it. This is a killer and at the moment there’s no way of of stopping it. What makes him being afflicted more striking is that Boris is in his…
Boris goes into intensive care
Boris Johnson was taken to ICU at St Thomas’s Hospital about 7pm. He remains conscious, ICU is a precaution in case he needs ventilation. Dominic Raab asked to deputise for PM if necessary. — Tom Barton (@tombarton) April 6, 2020
That designated deputy Raab last spoke to Boris on Saturday raises questions of who is running the country
"I spoke to the PM on Saturday, [that] was the last time I spoke to him," says Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab Boris Johnson is in hospital with "persistent symptoms" of coronavirus https://t.co/OIh7EwyqSR pic.twitter.com/HDmG3ygnUP — BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) April 6, 2020 This seems a touch odd – if PM is really in regular touch, and Raab really is in charge, shouldn't they have talked to each other in the last 24 hours ? https://t.co/j5bnc4rId2 — Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) April 6,…
A party fit for purpose
The challenges ahead for the new leader Labour has a new leader. And soon a new Shadow Cabinet. Starmer will not be short of advice, most of it unasked for. Momentum have already started. Would that Starmer gives them the answer Attlee gave Harold Laski: “A period of silence from you would be most welcome.” If not, perhaps a link to this tongue lashing from Alan Johnson would do. So let’s join in. Should he go for unity – healing a divided and demoralised party? Magnanimity…
What happened on Betfair’s next PM market after news of Boris’s hospitalisation came out
There was similar movement on the Johnson exit date market. Raab is Johnson’s designated stand-in. This makes me uneasy about political betting but inevitably some punters will look to anything to turn a buck. I’m also not convinced that the market is reading this right. If there is a need a replacement PM then that would surely be a decision for the whole cabinet. I’m sure everybody on PB wishes Boris a speedy and full recovery. Mike Smithson
Boris admitted to hospital
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson admitted to hospital for tests, 10 days after testing positive for coronavirus https://t.co/RhjYRNfpUN — BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) April 5, 2020
Starmer needs a net gain of 124 seats at the next GE to win a majority, here’s that in context
As Alastair Meeks pointed out this morning Sir Keir Starmer and Labour need a net gain of 124 seats at the next election for a majority so I thought it would be interesting to see how man net gains each Leaders of the Opposition have made at each general election from 1945 onwards. Only three LOTOs have made over 100 net gains at at next election, Attlee, Blair, and Cameron, so Starmer will be joining stellar company if he achieves…