But they’d run a mile from Tony Blair and David Cameron
‘STRAIGHT-TALKING’ late Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher is the British leader car dealers would most jump at the chance to hire.
But ‘untrustworthy’ Tony Blair beats ‘chaotic’ Liz Truss and ‘insincere’ David Cameron in the race to rock bottom place in the list.
That’s according to motor retailers on HonkHonk.co.uk, which brings car dealers and private sellers together to solve the problem of used car stock shortages and rip-off private car-buying operators.
With Britain gearing up for another General Election – and maybe yet another Prime Minister – HonkHonk.co.uk’s car dealer community apparently shares the nation’s frustration with many of Britain’s more recent political leaders. While professional car dealers have made strides to improve their public image in recent decades, the same can’t be said for politicians.
Despite her status as a love/hate figure, Margaret Thatcher – who served as Prime Minister between 1979 and 1990 – overwhelmingly leads the pack for ‘straight-talking’ along with her love of entrepreneurship and ‘respect for the value of money’.
Perhaps surprisingly, the often-criticised Boris Johnson manages third place, albeit perhaps for the same reasons he didn’t survive long as PM.
“He’d be a fun team member, but he doesn’t seem able to concentrate, so we’d have to watch him,” said one dealer.
“Tony Blair? No chance” said another.
“Our unscientific dealer poll is a bit of fun but with a serious side,” said Sebastien Duval, CEO of HonkHonk, “because reliability and winning trust are everything to customers and voters.
“So with another election coming we wondered which Prime Ministers our dealer community thought would serve both customers and their business best.
“There’s potentially bad news for Rishi Sunak with no one seeming quite sure how he’d come across in the showroom, but they were clear that Liz Truss would be a problem.
“They were worried that she wouldn’t even manage to close the first deal.”
Tony Blair comes rock bottom, with claims that he would be seen as’slippery’ and ‘untrustworthy’ by customers. One commented “They’d think he was hiding something or trying to sell them an insurance write-off.”
And recent returner to government, David Cameron, is described as ‘crafty’ and ‘insincere’, with one dealer saying “business is quite good at the moment, so I’d run a mile if he brought his CV in”.
Winners … and losers
Dealers choose their preferred salesperson from among Britain’s Prime Ministers of the last 40 years –
with highlights from their reasons
Margaret Thatcher (1979–90) – (Customers would trust her. They’d know where they stood’)
Theresa May (2016–19) – (‘Probably quite reassuring’)
Boris Johnson (2019–22) – (‘Good patter, but hard to keep on track’)
John Major (1990–97) – (‘Honest enough’)
Rishi Sunak (2022– ) – (‘At least he dresses snappily’)
Gordon Brown (2007–10) – (‘Probably best with older customers’)
David Cameron (2010–16) – (‘Too smarmy’)
Liz Truss (2022) – (‘Chaotic and clueless about the customer’s needs’’)
Tony Blair (1997–2007) – (‘I just wouldn’t trust him, would you?’)
