Antisemites, Poisoned Spies & Hope

I find it rather strange that there are calls for anti-semites to be chucked out of the Labour party but no-one is the least bit concerned about the racists and xenophobes in Ukip and the Conservative parties. The calls for anti-semites to be expelled from Labour is coming, tellingly, from parts of the Labour Party itself, which shows there's a recognition of there being a problem and a discussion is underway. There is no such discussion going on within Ukip and the Conservative parties, who have based almost their entire Brexit strategy around the question of immigration. It's a funny old world.

The same illogicality surrounds the Novichok debacle; Corbyn is accused by the government's Liar-in-Chief (£350m a week to the NHS) of siding with the Russian propaganda machine when what he's actually doing is adhering to a basic principle of British law - innocent until proven guilty. Yes, Russia is the most likely candidate, but there has to be evidence before engaging in knee-jerk reactions that may come back to bite you in the bum. Has the Conservative Party learned nothing from Iraq? It's just common sense - but Bojo isn't noted for that faculty.

I use Flipboard a lot, as it draws content from a wide variety of sources. You can create your own Flipboard magazines and add content to it for others to see. I have had a long-running battle with a Flipboarder who aggregates pro-Brexit stories on his magazine, which he shares; however, he's finally barred me from commenting as I've debunked every story he's added to his magazine and I believe he feels threatened within his cosy, fact-free bubble.

Lies were spread by both sides in the Brexit debate; however, the Remain lies were nothing more than an over-exaggeration of the downside economics, whereas the Leave lies were factual lies – Turkey joining the EU (Vote Leave publicity), £350m a week for the NHS (Boris Johnson), it will hurt the EU more than it will hurt us (every Brexiteer having no knowledge of percentages), we will trade with the rest of the world (Liam Fox), we will still have access to the single market (Daniel Hannan), etc. Despite the mounting evidence that Brexit will be a disaster (which is why the government is desperate for a deal on access to the Single Market), Leavers cling to their discredited mantras like an alcoholic does to a bottle, or a heroin addict to a syringe.

Here's my armoury, every item of which I can debunk with facts, evidence and/or logic (if you require clarification on any of these, then just ask):

Leave Lies:

• We send £350m a week to Brussels,
• We can’t stop Turkey joining,
• We can’t stop a European army,
• We are still liable to pay eurozone bailouts,
• The UK rebate can be changed against our will,
• Our VAT exemptions will be ended,
• Cameron’s deal was not legally binding,
• EU law is adopted by unelected bureaucrats,
• We can’t control our borders in the EU,
• Criminals arriving in Germany can get EU passports and come over here,
• Health tourism costs us billions,
• EU needs UK trade more than vice versa,
• Past referendum results have been ignored,
• Auditors still refuse to sign off the accounts,
• CAP adds £400 to British food bills,
• British steel suffers because of the EU,
• Irish border will be unaffected by Brexit,
• UK can’t deport EU criminals,
• UK is always outvoted,
• 60-70% of laws come from EU,
• Renationalisation of industries is impossible,
• We get no veto on future treaty change or integration,
• The budget ceiling can increase without our consent,
• We thought we were only joining a free trade zone (EEC).

Remain Lies:

 • It’ll be very, very, very, very bad (rather than just very, very bad).

You may believe some of the Leave lies are straw-men, but I assure you they are not and are arguments that have been put to me many times by Brexiteers in the Lion's Den of the Get Britain Out and Leave.EU Facebook pages (not to mention the Tory press), where I regularly take on the Ultras. These sites are where I have honed my counter-arguments and thickened my skin, as well as learning about the mind-set of Ultras, which is based on nothing more concrete than dogma and hope. Forecasts, however inaccurate, are a better guide to action than plain hope. That's not to say that hope hasn't sometimes triumphed, but it's rare; business and war are littered with the casualties of hope.

I see John Redwood promised punishment a few years ago for firms that are sensible and daring to speak out against the Tory, Eurosceptic group-think.