“Why do we have to believe what you’re saying when you’ve been proven to be a regular liar?” That was the first question for Boris Johnson on a Mumsnet user grid this week. Forum founder Justine Roberts, who was tasked with asking users questions to the Prime Minister, later thought she might have a “woman problem”.
Undoubtedly, the polls seem to confirm this: in YouGov’s latest snapshot of voting intentions, Johnson outperformed Keir Starmer by six percentage points as the best male prime minister among men and by 12 points (out of 21). % to 33%) among women. In terms of voting intentions, Labor led the Conservatives by just one point among men and by 16 points (from 45% to 29%) among women.
Opposition activists say the gender gap is reflected in other investigations and meetings with female voters at the door. In recent Labor discussion groups, party members say women, including many who previously voted Conservatives, have repeatedly emerged as the most outraged by Johnson’s behavior.
A former Conservative Ashfield voter complained that “it’s the beacon of laughter in the world,” while another said, “It’s its history, it’s repetitive, it’s how it behaves.” A former Conservative voter on Stevenage lamented, “I have to say I liked it when he came in, but we disrespected him and treated us like fools.”
Her exasperation was reminiscent of Amber Rudd’s description of Johnson in 2016 during the Brexit debate as “the life and soul of the party,” but not the man you want to take home at the end of the evening”.
Boris Johnson denies being a “regular liar” in the Mumsnet video interview
Labor MP Jess Phillips is not surprised that a growing number of voters seem to be approaching a similar view. She says the contrast between the party culture on Downing Street and the real life of normal voters may have affected women in particular.
“Women are deeply affected by the pandemic: they were more likely to do their jobs while raising their children at home; the vast majority of key workers are women. In care and in the NHS and in supermarkets and stuff, it was a female workforce, “she said.” In addition, women are much more likely to take practical care of their older relatives, so the attractiveness of not being able to go see their parents, mothers, aunts and great uncles would have been much more common among women. They felt the burden of the blockade in a bigger way in many cases. “
This may have led to some of the defenses that Johnson and his allies have given for the behavior that took place: that he and his team were working very hard or, worse, that the nurses and teachers may also have shared some cups during confinement. not only insufficient but frankly offensive.
Phillips adds that women have also been in many cases at the height of the cost of living crisis, struggling with low incomes and managing the family budget. She is no doubt skeptical of Johnson’s hopes, reported this week, of regaining a segment of voters characterized by the term “Waitrose woman.”
“As a woman who buys Waitrose, I’d love to see her try it on,” she said. “At my local Waitrose, they’re literally laughing at him as I walk, so I’ll be waiting for him.”
Lib Dem strategists also say they have detected “significant anger among women in blue-walled seats”: conservative-controlled areas in the south and west that top their list of targets.
Number 10 plans to stress the importance of Rishi Sunak’s £ 15bn cost of living package in the coming weeks, in hopes of proving that the government is doing everything it can to help, with a plan to be considered the regular coronavirus-style press. conferences.
There are also more announcements to come about what Downing Street expects to be family-friendly policies that may appeal to the Mumsnet crowd, such as reforms aimed at reducing the cost of daycare.
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But if Johnson’s “woman’s problem” is that women across the UK have considered him a “regular liar,” any amount of fancy promises is unlikely to change that. And once that narrative takes hold — which Johnson can’t be trusted — it’s likely that other facets of his character, including contempt for rules that once seemed endearing, will likely reinforce it.
JL Partners pollster James Johnson has said that policies under the name of the Prime Minister are becoming increasingly toxic, regardless of whether they might otherwise be popular with the public. And, if Johnson’s grill at Mumsnet is anything to go by, he has a long period of detox ahead of him.