There is very little to say other than watch the video – a remake of the classic Roy Orbison song Pretty Woman (sorry Roy) – Priti Woman – Bully Back Better. Over 27 years I have written 12 books on business leadership and it is true to say that “the fish rots from the head”. Boris Johnson’s tolerance and even encouragement of bullying is probably a reflection of the Bullingdon bullying, which characterises our testosterone fuelled Brexit administration. In case you are unsure about Boris Johnson’s record on bullying, remember watermelon smiles, bum boys in tank tops and piccaninnies. Not to mention the numerous insults he has made about “Remoaners”. The characterisation of 1/4 of your people as doomsayers, pessimists and so on is a shameful element of Boris Johnson’s legacy as a Prime Minister and will pay him back badly in terms of cohesion and commitment to recover from our “Britastrophe“.
Priti Patel has chosen to fit in with the Johnson alpha male bullying stereotype, rather than stand out for a more humanistic approach to questions of asylum, immigration and, of course, Brexit. This is particularly disappointing as females have the opportunity to present a more emotionally intelligent form of leadership than many members of the male gender. If you have to shout and swear to maintain authority as a leader, you have failed, plain and simple.
You may have to wash your eyes out with bleach after watching the video !! 🙂 Warning, contains images of Johnson and other Bullingdon Bullies:
Priti Woman was recorded in record time with Rachel Ashley in Cheshire. We collaborated online to produce the song, using words I wrote in bed on Saturday morning 21 November 2020. Priti Woman – Bully Back Better can be found on The Brexit Party Album – The Party album to end all parties. I’ve had a bit of pushback from the usual Remainers who found the video offensive, although they did not specify whether it was the dildos, cats or BDSM allusions. Remember Priti is in charge here. I was more “disturbed” that no one has so far mentioned the fact that the “whips” are all timed to be “on the one” and that each whipping pans the entire stereo field in the time taken to crack the whip. The Chief Whip should take note …
Bullying is not cool
In case of doubt, here is the foreword to The Ministerial Code, written by Boris Johnson. It is virtually unrecognisable in terms of the difference between the code and current practice:
The mission of this Government is to deliver Brexit on 31st October 2019 for the purpose of uniting and re-energising our whole United Kingdom and making this country the greatest place on earth.
We will seize the opportunities offered by Brexit, investing in education, technology and infrastructure, unlocking the talents of the whole nation and levelling up across our United Kingdom so that no town or community is ever again left behind or forgotten. In doing so, we will make our country the greatest place to invest or set up a business, the greatest place to send your kids to school and the greatest place in the world to live and bring up a family.
To fulfil this mission, and win back the trust of the British people, we must uphold the very highest standards of propriety – and this code sets out how we must do so.
There must be no bullying and no harassment; no leaking; no breach of collective responsibility. No misuse of taxpayer money and no actual or perceived conflicts of interest. The precious principles of public life enshrined in this document – integrity, objectivity, accountability, transparency, honesty and leadership in the public interest – must be honoured at all times; as must the political impartiality of our much admired civil service.
Crucially, there must be no delay – and no misuse of process or procedure by any individual Minister that would seek to stall the collective decisions necessary to deliver Brexit and secure the wider changes needed across our United Kingdom.
The time has come to act, to take decisions, and to give strong leadership to change this country for the better.
That is what this Government will do.
BORIS JOHNSON
Write to the Conservative Party and call for Priti Patel’s resignation
Read all about Brexit Choices still open to us at Brexit Choices
Watch our groundbreaking interviews with former MEPs at VIP Interviews
Amplify some tweets and copy to people who need to act:
Because nothing says “she’s done nothing wrong” like blocking access to a key witness and trying to hide a report that was finished 7 months ago. https://t.co/ceugiYnJ2f
You paid for a inquiry into Priti Patel’s behaviour. That inquiry found that she bullied people and broke the ministerial code. There are no known examples of ministers breaking the code and remaining in position. Boris Johnson has chosen to ignore the inquiry. Bullies are weak.
When you think about #Patel and bullying remember that it is a clearly representative of her whole dishonest and cruel attitudes. This is her advocating the return of capital punishment.#PatelTheBullypic.twitter.com/S0pmTPvWRZ
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Dominic Cummings, Chief Adviser to the Prime Minister and would be dictator, has gone. He leaves behind an unparalleled legacy of chaos and destruction.
All power is centralised at No 10, with key functions such as appointments, vetting and control of data the exclusive preserve of the Chief Adviser.
His nominees occupy key posts for which they are totally unqualified.
Ministers opposing him have been sacked and most of the rest have proved second rate or worse.
The functions of the cabinet have been usurped by a crowd of unelected advisors who, according to the last Cabinet Secretary, meet and take decisions with no ministers present.
Parliament has been sidelined and MPs contemptuously disregarded.
To cap it all, there are clauses in the Internal Market Bill, now before Parliament, permitting the government to legislate by executive order over a broad field.
This bill is currently blocked by the House of Lords, and is also in breach of international law. But even if the latter aspect is eventually removed under pressure from the United States and EU, the danger of increased government by decree will remain.
This is the state of democratic government in the UK as 2020 comes to a close.
Many years ago, Lord Hailsham warned that Britain was an ‘elected dictatorship.’ Now we can see what sort of dictatorship it can become in the wrong hands.
Whilst we are here, please continue to share the Priti Woman Bully Back Better video which had over 1000 views yesterday. Share with your MP.
Article image by Cold War Steve https://coldwarsteve.com
Cummings has gone – But it’s business as usualas we remain dogged by dogma.
The departure of Chief Adviser Dominic Cummings aroused some hope of a new beginning:
Dogma would be replaced by realism.
Honesty would replace corruption and cronyism.
Respect for the rule of law and our constitutional conventions would be restored.
This has already proved to be naive. The Culture Secretary is pursuing plans to abolish the BBC and replace it with American-style radio and TV. Hancock has given an influential post in the health department to a lobbyist, a former girlfriend from university. The Government still ignores appeals from business to postpone Brexit at least until the pandemic has abated and normal conditions restored – an attitude described by one commentator as about as sensible as a man with a broken leg trying to take part in a marathon.
Get Ready for 30 miles traffic jams, portaloos and dogging stations
Above all, there is no sign in the EU negotiations of the government compromising on its demand to be able to bribe foreign investors on terms which are denied to EU members themselves. As Johnson and Frost well know, this is incompatible with any level playing field and strikes at the heart of the EU’s single market. Their refusal to compromise on this key issue makes it plain that ‘No Deal’ has been their aim alI along. If that occurs, the resultant expense, disruption and impoverishment will be 100% their responsibility, and theirs alone. Paradoxically, it may perhaps also hasten their downfall and open the way for more reasonable successors to negotiate a closer relationship with the EU or even rejoin earlier than might otherwise have been the case. They may in fact come to be dogged by dogma.
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On this day when the Government says that we need to extend Brexit negotiations and that Brexit is all Cummings’ fault anyway. It also emerges that a US trade deal is years away. Here, we offer a news roundup via the medium of the satirical “Kent Massager”, as Brexshit hits the fan.
In case of doubt …
FACT : The Daily Express DID report on FURY re our Kent Toilet of Britain project. In fact it was not mass fury. FICTION : The Express managed to find just ONE person, in Yorkshire, who objected to the signs in Kent.
Don’t read the Daily Express, click to read the “Excess”
FACT : Trials at the border show that if it takes 70 seconds to check a lorry, a five mile queue ensues. We can expect significant and continuing gridlock in Kent and maybe even into Sussex, Surrey and London if Brexit happens.
FACT : There has been a prediction of an increase in dogging in Kent after Brexit. We are not sure why it matters but there you go. I prefer Labradors to Terriers myself. How about you?
FICTION : Priti Patel has NOT unblocked a toilet. FACT : She has blocked the futures of EU Citizens living in UK and UK Citizens living in Europe. Our video Priti Woman has been banned for under 18’s after complaints by the Conservative party. We don’t know why. Here it is for your pleasure.
No, it’s not a mis-spelt article title. Anus Horribilis refers to the toxic combination of Brexshit and Corona aka a Britastrophe. In this yearly roundup I’m picking out some of the lowlights of 2020 and some of the early indicators of the Britastrophe to come. But of course, firstly, let me wish you happy new year via some music:
Project Fear v Project Fact
Gibraltar struck their own arrangements with the EU on 30.12.20 and British residents gained the ability to live and work in Spain and 27 EU countries by adopting Schengen. In the longer term this may lead to the re-integration of Gibraltar into Spain. Brexiteers said it would never happen …
Northern Ireland has similar privileges, now that Johnson dropped his “dead body promise” that there would NEVER be a border in the Irish sea. Included in the arrangements are the continuation of the EHIC healthcare scheme and the Erasmus scheme for young people to study in Europe.
Write to your MP. Demand a level playing field on free movement, Erasmus and EHIC cards. There must be unity of rights and freedoms.
Just yesterday it was revealed that another lorry park is to be built around the White Cliffs of Dover to cope with delays caused by Brexit. Michael Gove promised frictionless borders. Stockpiling means that borders are currently less busy but just reflect on these mind boggling facts:
More than 220 million customs forms will have to be processed by about 5,000 Customs officers for freight transport in the New Year. These apply to anything over 7.5 tonnes, laden or not. You’ll need a Kent (Road) Access Permit (KRAP) which lasts 24 hours, every time you come in, for a start. Some British exporters are to temporarily delay sending goods to Europe for a couple of weeks because they won’t subject their drivers to the delays.
Read this shocking account of lorry drivers trapped in Kent for days by Kent Police under direction from Priti Patel and our Brexit Government. Anus Horribilis has only just begun.
Treated like animals to feed the Brexiteers red meat and silence opposition to Brexit
COVIDIOTS
In an act of wilful madness, Johnson has changed the regime of COVID vaccinations so that people get a sub-optimal single dose with a possible follow up some 12 weeks later. The worst case scenario from this is that we will have millions of under-protected people wandering around thinking they are invincible. At the same time, the Government plan to mix and match vaccines from different manufacturers when there is no clinical evidence to suggest this is safe. The Government blamed the suppliers for failing to supply sufficient vaccine. Pfizer have just denied this is the case.
Write to your MP. Demand that COVID vaccines be given according to the recommended dosing regime.
BOJONA-21 is here – a psychotropic drug that makes it impossible for people to tell truth from lies. It’s very catchy so watch out. It is transmitted through contact with The Sun, Daily Mail and The Express.
Brexorcism
Brexiteers have had a sudden and dramatic change of heart. From 2016-2020 they cried “Remoaners! Traitors! Saboteurs! Enemies of the people!!!” In a dramatic reversal they are now saying: “It’s time to put aside our differences and move forward together…”
I for one am not prepared to collaborate with people who wilfully voted to ruin my children’s futures and have not demonstrated any atonement or behavioural change. Here is a video of someone who sent a death threat to my family and was later on caught in the act using spray paints and a knife to attack my property:
I will never “move on” and faced a huge dose of hatred from hardline Brexiteers over this tweet. Why are they so angry? They won FFS.
Write to your MP, asking them to Take Back Control of our Laws, now that Brexit is done. A couple of example letters for you to base your letter on are included below. The sample letters range from the sublime to the ridiculous. Pick your style and get writing. Let’s hold our MPs to account for the Brexit illusions from 2016 now that we can expect the sunlit uplands to appear. Your MP’s email is of the form firstname.lastname.mp@parliament.uk
Dear xxx,
I write to ask for the £350 million every week for the NHS, now that you have got Brexit done. Please can you provide a discounted cash flow statement for these inputs, set against the £200 BILLION or so of costs accrued so far on Brexit. Can you also provide an account of all the contracts issued to companies who failed to deliver PPE, test and trace and so on so I can calculate the impact on my tax bill.
All the best
*********************
Dear xxx,
Now that you have got Brexit done, I write to ask you to help rid the UK of those EU laws which were holding us back. In particular I ask that you attend to the pressing matter of upgrading the lightbulbs in my street lamps. They offer no illumination and were installed by my council, following pressure from residents to restore the street to Edwardian times. As well as this, they have been forced to introduce the ritual of regular bear-bating sessions and the infection of local people with syphilis and typhoid. I understand from the Council that they were forced, yes forced, to have these practices, because of EU laws imposed upon our once great nation.
Please also table a motion in Parliament to insist that all bananas conform to a maximum angle of curvature of 7 degrees. I chose the number 7 for no reason other than it is a prime number.
Whilst you are doing this, I have a number of annoying migrating birds in my garden. Many are of European origin. I have invented a unique device that traps the foreign ones and then deprives them of food until they are no more. I have shown my design patent to Priti Patel. Would you like to see it? (under confidential disclosure of course). I am presently designing an upgraded model that strangles the birds whilst playing Ode to Joy, in the hope that the word will get back to Brussels that we don’t want their stupid Beethoven music. After all, we have Robbie Williams.
Let’s Take Back Control of our Laws.
I await your reply.
Keep up the good work.
Peter Cook
******************
Dear xxx.
Brexit is done ! Thats the battle, crying on the street. Now we can take bak control of our money, boarders and laws. I write to ask. you to deal with this pressing matter,
There is a man called Tomek in my town. We call him Tommy and he likes it, But he doesnt speak propper English. When I speak with him he OFTEN gets things WRONG. It annoys my wife and my friend Brad in the pub where we have illegal lockdown boozing sessions. Please have Tommy arrested and sent to the Ascension Islands to learn. I know he run’s the only super-market in town, but we were fine before Tommy came here. so we will be grate agin.
We must take bak controll of are shops. Do it today and. show these forins hat we can grow are own.
Cheers matey
Graeme
*****************
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I am not Scottish but I support Scotland the Brave. Let me explain why. In 2014 I understood the problem of being 500 miles away from Westminster and being ignored, from conversations with Scottish friends. I used to point out that one did not need to be that far away to be ignored. Just 15 or 50 miles from Westminster was quite enough to be ignored. The problem is in essence Westminster and our English exceptionalism. I was also of the view that fragmentation of countries was a bad idea as it made our differences more important than our similarities.
My view changed in 2016 after the Brexit referendum. Scotland did not vote for self harm by a large margin. Although I’m sad to see them go, I now fully support Scottish independence and their return to the European Union. Scotland has one huge advantage going forward. It would be much more united in its purpose and that would produce the necessary cohesion to build an independent nation.
We are presently working to Re-Boot Britain. Amongst our number we have several people in England who wish to promote an independent Scotland. They plan to do this via campaigning to eject Conservatives and other parties in Scotland, or even standing SNP candidates in local English elections.
My apologies to my Scottish friends. We are not all complete arseholes.
Please sign up for my lifelong friend Eric’s blog naebother:
“My Dad’s dream was to return to an independent Scotland whose main export was not talented people, he died waiting.“
This week marks the end of our membership of the European Single Market and Customs Union. On 1 January, each and every Scot, including our children, will lose the right to live, travel and work freely in 31 other European countries. Covid Level 4 restrictions mean that we are not able to protest in the streets as we would have liked. But throughout Scotland we will be protesting in large numbers: in our homes, in open spaces, on social media, against this attack on our futures and those of our children. We call on as many as possible to share pictures of themselves displaying the EU stars – a symbol of European unity – in some form, accompanied by the hashtag #WeWillBeBack.
As we prepare for this sad day, we in the European Movement in Scotland are united in this pledge:
“We declare that Scotland is a European country, embracing our common values of peace, democracy, human rights, equality, sustainability and solidarity.
The clear wish of the great majority of the Scottish people is that Scotland should be within the European Union.
We commit to working to bring this about, whatever Scotland’s constitutional status”.
Scotland The Brave
We end with one of my favourite songs, featuring Stuart Adamson R.I.P. My friend Bill Nelson wrote a beautiful piece of music for Stuart’s funeral at Barrowlands.
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Reaching a deal with the EU and Boris Johnson’s request to Leavers and Remainers to “move on” did not inhibit his Lying Machine from continuing full blast during the festive period. On Christmas Day, Priti Patel gave us her Christmas message, saying that after Brexit we would all be safer. This lie was unmasked by Sir Ian Blair, former Metropolitan Police commissioner in an interview on Radio 4 on 4 January 2021.
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Sir Ian emphasised the loss of the European Arrest Warrant and of a major EU database which had been accessed more than 500 million times a year by British police.
“We’ve lost powers.”
“We lost full access to Europe-wide, real-time, interrogatable databases on criminal records, DNA, fingerprints, criminal intelligence.”
He added that the police had been emphasising for some time that this would make us less safe. So what did Ms Patel mean in her claim that the nation would be safer after exiting the EU?
Apparently Patel was referring to “even tougher powers”, to be given to the police and security agencies.
However, Patel could have introduced these powers if we had stayed in the EU!
The EU cannot intervene in policing and enforcement of criminal law by Member States.
The EU’s activities are limited to providing services through voluntary co-operation which are beyond the capacity of member states acting individually. This is a good example of how the extremist Brexiteer leadership tries to persuade us that leaving the EU benefits us, through lies, bullying and fake news. This is The mysterious case of Priti Patel indeed. If you are persuaded by the notion that bullies are unaware of their actions, think again about bullying back better.
We will continue to expose them so that their disgraceful record remains fresh in the public mind.
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Outside my life on here, I am a business person so, of course, I’m keen to harvest the benefits of Brexit. I’m impatient to discover what they are, as I have been promised a bright future over many years. First I decided to assess the cost-benefits of our new found sovereignty.
SOVRINTY INNIT
I discovered that Britain always had our sovereignty. This was demonstrated in the Supreme Court by Gina Miller. It was actually stated in the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement. How else were we able to close our borders for COVID in 2020 without asking the EU? We have kept the Pound. We turned down Billions of Euros of EU assistance for the Corona crisis. Now we even have our own “British sovereign variant” of Corona, according to Boris Johnson. But I am told by Boris Johnson that 67 million of us each now own a great big bag of sovereignty. To assess the value, I have put my bag up for auction on e-bay for £10 000.
Bags ‘o sovrinty – PRICELESS
Sadly, no one has taken up the offer of the bag. I am prepared to take one penny. Does nobody place any value on it? Will it buy a lunch box for a hungry child?
The Hunger Games
Meanwhile, the real Hunger Games are just beginning. In Northern Ireland, supermarket shelves are emptying, as it becomes apparent that frictionless trade was yet another Brexit unicorn sold by serial liar Michael Gove. In schools, our Government has been so possessed by Brexit that it is unable to organise itself to feed children under lockdown.
Perhaps Jacob Rees-Mogg was on the money when he said that he was not troubled by a few smugglers after Brexit. Here is the Brexit Smuggler’s Song after Rudyard Kipling.
Brexit Priorities
Finally, here is a wonderful poem by Barry Fentiman-Hall called “When Brexit comes (you will not be prioritised)”
When Brexit comes You will not be prioritised
White is not the original canvas On which the world was colourized Jim Davidson will not make a comeback Chalky was not really his friend You are not the beginning of anything Nor the default setting You will queue for cabbages With a pantone nation
When Brexit comes You will not be prioritised
God is not an Englishman You are not his messenger Sent to wash the world in shocking pink Dunkirk was a defeat A flotilla of weekend pleasure boats Are not coming to save you And neither is Sir John Mills with a cold Danish beer There are no exceptions You will be on universal credit With Jakub, Karosh, and Li Cheng
When Brexit comes You will not be prioritised
How you voted is irrelevant Maggie and Winston are dead racists and their statues will be pissed on by poodles and shat on by doves Theresa May will never be any more of a statue than she is now Conservatism is not a natural state It does not appear In the periodic table of elements The calcium in your bones Will be at the same levels as your anarchist neighbour
When Brexit comes you will not be prioritised
We are finally all in it together You and I
There will be no further extension Brexit will come It will be televised live from your living room… And you will be the star…
Ending Brexit populism is our priority and those that continue to push it. Join us every Monday at 8 pm on ZOOM.
If we want to affect parliamentary paralysis in the corridors of power, we need to learn the gentle art of influence and persuasion. I wrote an article on the topic just recently. Please read it here.
This simple graphic hides a wealth of detail. Read the article and then get a copy of our book on the topic “Let’s Talk About BREX..it” – Click the image to buy on Amazon
What follows below is a superb example of the principles discussed in the article and the book. It was written by Paul Bowers, one of our colleagues at Re-Boot Britain. Paul has worked inside the parliamentary system for many years. He understands how people may speak truth to power and be heard. To those who say that there’s no point writing letters to MPs, think again.
Please write your own letters on this topic to your MP via Write to Them
Rt Hon Michael Gove MP Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Dear Mr Gove,
“Ugly divisions” of Brexit
You wrote in the Times, 26 December 2020, of divisions and ugliness caused or exacerbated by Brexit, expressing hope that the UK will be animated by a spirit of common endeavour moving forward, its politics reaching a better place.
As a supporter of the UK’s membership of the European Union, I wish to explain why I cannot move on – or rather, from what I must not move on – and why I do not anticipate others doing so.
It may interest you to know that I worked in the House of Commons Library from 1991 to 2018. From Maastricht until 2005 I specialised in foreign affairs, observing political developments in other parts of the world which often implicated the ebb and flow of democracy: from hope in post-Soviet Eastern Europe or the end of apartheid, through calamity in the Balkans, genocide in Rwanda and on to the world of 9/11 and the Iraq War. In more recent years, I specialised in UK constitutional matters. Like everyone else, I was disturbed by the scenes in the US Capitol this week, and by China’s suppression of the Hong Kong democracy movement. The fragility of what we hold dear is apparent throughout recent history.
The special tinge that makes Brexit different from other UK political issues derives from the damage to democracy on which it depended and which it advances. We are ill-advised to take this lightly. While some argue that we can never go back to 2015, I would suggest that we must go back. Back to relatively low levels of corruption, back to respect for the rule of law, back to a sophisticated understanding of democracy as a range of factors through which balanced outcomes in the national interest occur.
In one sense, we have all moved on: from EU citizenship, the rights and freedoms we enjoyed, to a period of economic challenge, and international concern. You will have seen at New Year mocking cartoons from New Zealand, pained journalism from Germany and the USA.
We have moved on to a new reality.
But we should not move on from analysis of that reality.
The referendum was advisory. About 37% of the electorate, 26% of the population, voted to leave. Support was pocketed around the UK, geographically and demographically. London, the capital, with about one eighth of the UK population producing about one fifth of GDP, voted against. Scotland and Northern Ireland, separate constitutional units, voted against. So did the young, and the educated.
Do other voters not matter? Of course they do.
But it is wrong to say that there existed a consensus adequate for a change in national destiny of this magnitude.
The referendum result was unlawfully procured. Vote Leave and Leave.EU were fined by the Electoral Commission for breaking campaign finance rules. The Culture, Media and Sport Committee reported in July 2018 that Arron Banks, believed to have made the largest political donation in British history to Leave campaigners, failed to satisfy them that his funding came from the UK, and that he had close links to the Russian Government. In addition to concerns over Russian money and connections, Russian interference in social media was rife throughout the Brexit period. The Information Commissioner fined a variety of organisations associated with the Leave campaign for breaches of data law. There is evidence that the shift in opinion from a majority for Remain to a majority for Leave just before the referendum correlated with targeted advertising based on unlawfully harvested data, the latter leading to a very substantial fine on Facebook.
In February 2019 Prime Minister Theresa May’s barrister, Sir James Eadie QC, conceded that the referendum met the threshold for illegality and that, had it been binding there would have been a statutory legal mechanism by which it would be annulled. It is disturbing that a British Prime Minister chose to push forward with a policy that was damaging to the economy and the UK’s standing in the world when she knew it was based on corruption.
In my view, cleansing this corruption from British politics should have been the consuming interest of Parliament and Government in the last four years. Instead, it has been placed at the heart, and around it an abscess has formed. The referendum must not be “respected”. Subsequent general elections argued to support Brexit would not have happened without the referendum.
Other states joining the European Union have done so after tragedy and oppression: war, occupation, tyranny. The original members after World War II, Spain and Portugal after domestic fascism, the former Soviet satellites. All joined swiftly to entrench liberty. Perhaps the UK’s attitude to the EU was born of complacency. We saw it in purely economic terms, because that was our purpose in joining.
Today, we in the UK have our time of darkness.
Brexit, under two Conservative Governments, with Farage in the wings, and a Labour Party too divided to oppose, finally endorsing the Government’s 4% reduction of GDP, isolationism and reduction of rights, has brought us far from the democracy I served. As a colleague said in 2016, “things that used to be unthinkable are happening. What are they thinking now?”
A trajectory of decline has indeed played out, each outrage grounding the next.
A referendum that side-lined devolution. The advisory becoming peremptory. Parliament endorsing a corrupt exercise, with senior MPs confessing that they knew what they were doing would harm their constituents, but they would do it anyway. The spike in hate crimes after the referendum. EU nationals being forced to apply for the right to stay in their homes. A Prime Minister trying to action Article 50 without authorisation, then wasting public money contesting an unwinnable court case. The press describing judges as enemies of the people for upholding the law. The Justice Secretary late to defend them. Brexiteer MPs bellowing abuse across the Chamber at those daring to suggest that democracy did not end on 23 June 2016. The Government attempting a breach of procedure to hold a vote on a matter twice, cornering the Speaker into blocking the move, then directing anger against him. MPs being harassed and jostled on their way to Parliament, subject to death threats and presented by the Prime Minister as standing against her and the public. Unlawful suspension of Parliament. Threats to limit judicial review of ministerial excess. Legislation to put the Executive above the law.
The Internal Market Bill was the most disturbing. In my career I lost count of how many times Conservatives cited Magna Carta and the Bill of Rights, important foundations of the principle that the Executive is subject to the law. A Conservative-dominated Parliament legislated to contravene that principle.
Indeed, there seems no principle that Brexiteers are unwilling to jettison in service of their aim. When Parliament’s role in authorising the Article 50 notice was asserted, they decried the very parliamentary sovereignty they so often prayed in aid against the EU.
Since 1 January 2021 we have seen a strategy of lies from the UK Government, consistent with that encouraged in local Conservative association literature. This includes the claim that freeports are possible as a result of Brexit, when they exist in the EU, and the UK had them until 2012. It appears that the Government delayed decisions to end pulse fishing and the “tampon tax” so that it could announce them on 1 January and falsely claim that this was possible only as a result of Brexit.
Perhaps most galling of all: the Prime Minister’s pretence that he would countenance “no deal” in order to encourage the view that the Trade and Cooperation Agreement is better. The comparison is not with WTO terms, which we did not have with the EU. It is with membership, which outclassed his shoddy package. Already unravelling, we see online retailers unwilling to sell to UK consumers, fishing communities enraged by betrayal, their sovereignty rotting on the quayside, hauliers bypassing us, and staggering amounts of financial business fleeing to the Continent.
Strategic lying is the stuff of totalitarianism. Designed to jeopardise confidence in truth, it makes a people supple for manipulation. It is the latest stage in our decline. A free society cannot be expected to embrace such diminishment.
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