Thursday 11 July 2024

Hannan's Whopping Falsehoods

When Lord Hannan talks of whopping falsehoods, it pays you to take notice. He's a man who knows more about that subject than almost anyone else, apart perhaps from Boris Johnson and Donald Trump.  In 2016, he told us no one was talking about leaving the single market, and in 2020 that Covid wouldn't kill anyone. He could claim to be among the world's leading experts on falsehoods, especially whopping ones. So when in The Daily Mail, he accuses Labour of basing their 'entire approach' to the EU on a whopping falsehood, I'm immediately suspicious.

He claims that the new foreign secretary David Lammy thinks any "remaining commercial barriers" in the Trade and Cooperation Agreement are not a result of Tory dogma but of "Brussels vindictiveness."

There we get the first whopping falsehood. Hannan must know the commercial barriers he is talking about were painstakingly built over the 40 years Britain was a member. In 2016 we voted by a narrow majority to place ourselves outside those barriers, urged on by him and his friends at Vote Leave. It was the culmination of what he has referred to as his life's work.

But now he can see the damage, he wants to blame Brussels for being vindictive.  He seems to think the UK can enjoy frictionless access to the single market without being a member or contributing to its upkeep. It is extreme cakeism and a complete fantasy, as he must surely be aware.

Hannan then says "Nobody objected to economic links. On the contrary, the complaint throughout our membership was that we had voted to join a common market, not a united Europe."

There we get the second whopping falsehood. Britain voted to join just a common market, not a united Europe with political and monetary dimensions. This is pure revisionism. To see how wrong he is you need to see this YouTube video put together by @EmporersNewC


The video is seven minutes long with dozens and dozens of references to 'Political Union' and a common foreign policy in official documents, political speeches, and newspaper and television reports going back to the early 1960s. This myth that the EEC was only ever about trade has grown up recently to bolster the notion that Britain had somehow been tricked.

If you can find a few minutes to watch, I think you'll find the video useful. At the moment it has only had 78 views which is disappointing.

The Tory Civil Wars

We are starting to see the first skirmishes in the coming Tory civil war. And the opening salvos aren’t even between the moderates and the far right as you might expect. Badenoch and Braverman are already at each other’s throats after Badenoch reportedly attacked the former Home Secretary during the first meeting of Sunak’s shadow cabinet. Braverman was away in the US at a Conservative rally but spotted Badenoch’s leaked comments about her having a “public nervous breakdown.”

This was followed by Badenoch complaining about her comments - attacking Sunak as well - had been leaked to Steve Swinford at The Times:

Suella Braverman then responds:

Also, note that according to polling of the party members by Queen Mary University in London, Badenoch is well ahead in the race to become the next party leader and 47% of the membership favour a merger with Reform UK Ltd, against 48% who do not.

I suspect this crack will only get wider as time goes on.  The self-destruct button has been pressed and an unstoppable process is now underway which can only result in the party splitting into at least two distinct parts. I have always thought this was essential to give voters clarity on what the Tories actually stand for, something which was lacking during the last four general elections.

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