After the first week of the election campaign, it is difficult to make a call on where it is heading.

Having had numerous conversations with people the general consensus is that Boris Johnson is not liked, mainly because he is a liar. He has almost certainly been corrupted by the type of people you wouldn’t want to be corrupted by.

However, these same people cannot bring themselves to contemplate life under a Jeremy Corbyn government. Fears that Britain will suddenly turn into Venezuela is an ongoing theme, as well as concerns that normal people will be taxed to death in some sort of communist coup.

I am not a particular fan of Corbyn as a leader of what is claimed to be a ‘broad church’ party, however, anyone who cares to study his ideology will see that taxes will only target the highest earners, and of course, those who are not playing ball with the HMRC.

Whilst Corbyn’s reform of the public sector and the taxation system may not be what some people see as a workable proposition, at least it is an ideology. The message is clear and is being delivered along with a Brexit solution which although still flawed, is less flawed that of the Conservatives.

Johnson appears to be all bullshit and bluster, with his obvious lack of attention to detail being regularly showcased. He also appears to be distracted by all the allegations mounting up that don’t make him look good. The deliberate delaying of the dossier about Russian donations and data interference, is the most striking. Let’s face it, if it wasn’t damning, he would have released it with a message of “nothing to see here chaps”.

I spoke to a friend of mine today from the legal industry who is pretty much impartial, but it was his view that Corbyn, like him or not, will make mincemeat of Johnson on TV debates. This is because (forget your own ideology for a moment) Corbyn is a seasoned politician and Johnson is just an Old Etonian, operating with self-entitled hubris.

It was once thought that Johnson is a good orator yet under pressure, he isn’t good at all. If you watch him when challenged, the rhetoric is the same. Bluster and attempts to woo the questioner with jokes disguising lack of knowledge is very noticeable. Johnson can’t be bothered with detail; he would rather be in a boy’s club washing down lobster with a bottle of Dom Perignon, than actually working. 

What Johnson seems to have, is a support base entrenched in a kind of Stockholm Syndrome where they will not be moved. With that in mind, he has a very useful head start over Corbyn, who has to maintain and gain a far higher level of new support just to gain some sort of parity.

However, where Johnson may come unstuck is in the areas where his team thinks he can gain support. I don’t think he realises he is disliked as much as he is in some areas, and this could hurt him badly. I also think that the longer the campaign stretches out the better it would suit Corbyn and his team.

If Corbyn can win over the people who have deep distrust of Johnson and his cabinet of witless sycophants, he has a chance. At this stage it is only a punchers chance but any more weeks like the ones the Tories have just had, and it will all be up for grabs.

Intriguing election this one.