Brexit Brief – ISSUE 94, 22nd November 2019

Lies and deceit but no manifesto

Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party published its General Election manifesto earlier today, not that anyone noticed. That leaves the Real Brexit Party, led by Boris Johnson, as the only major UK-wide political party yet to tell voters what promises it’s not going to keep. Previously known as the Conservative and Unionist Party when it was respected by moderate, One Nation Tories like me, rumour has it that their pamphlet of lies will be published on Sunday. But Johnson’s cabal of sell-outs and right-wing extremists will not confirm this. (I will produce a ‘General Election Made Simple’ when it finally appears).

It has been another week characterised by falsehoods, deception and evasion from Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ). Truth and scruples are strangers to each and every one of them seeking to win a Parliamentary majority and achieve their dream of ripping the UK out of the EU. Proof – not that it was needed - of just how low these people are prepared to go came on Tuesday night during Johnson’s TV debate with Jeremy Corbyn. As the hour-long verbal joust got underway, CCHQ changed its official Twitter account to make it look like an independent fact-checking service. It called itself “factcheckUK” and replaced the blue Tory logo with a white tick against a purple background. And for the next 60 minutes, the account spewed out attacks on Corbyn and the Labour Party before declaring Johnson as the “clear winner” of the debate. 

The backlash against the Tories for reaching depths not seen in any previous UK General Election campaign was swift and not restricted to political opponents.  Will Moy, head of respected independent fact-checking charity Full Fact, said: “Governments depend on voters’ trust so it was inappropriate for the Conservatives to impersonate genuine independent fact-checkers.” Our old friend Guy Verhofstadt, Brexit coordinator for the European Parliament, called the scam “dystopian” and claimed that not even parties in Hungary and Poland – which have recently been accused of undermining democracy in their own nations – would stoop as low as the Conservatives. And, in an unprecedented moment in UK politics, even Twitter itself condemn the sinister tactic, with a spokeswoman warning: “Any further attempts to mislead people by editing verified profile information — in a manner seen during the UK election debate — will result in decisive corrective action.”   

True to form, the Tory high command offered no contrition whatsoever. Foreign Secretary and uber-Brexiteer Dominic Raab said the Party “will make no apology” for the malevolent stunt, adding with a characteristic lack of class: “No one gives a toss about the social media cut-and-thrust.” And the Tory commitment to continue using dirty tricks was confirmed yesterday when it was discovered that CCHQ has set up a new website using the address www.Labourmanifesto.co.uk which says of Labour’s policy platform: “No plan for Brexit. Higher taxes. Two more referendums.” The Guardian newspaper also reported that the Tories had paid for a Google advert which directed internet browsers to this site when they searched for “Labour.”  

Short-term gains, long-term costs  

Of course, the financial costs of such deceptions do rack up but, happily for Johnson’s Real Brexit Party, they have no worries in that area. Figures released yesterday by the Electoral Commission showed that the Tories received ￡5.6 million in donations in the first six days of the General Election campaign, almost 26 times more than the ￡218,500 received by Labour. The largest giver to Conservative coffers was theatre producer John Gore who handed over a cool ￡1 million. Michael Gooley, founder of travel firm Traifinders, donated ￡500,000. Property developer Tony Gallagher gave the same amount via his Countrywide Developments firm. Whilst Lubov Chernukhin, the wife of former Russian Deputy Finance Minister Vladimir Chernukhin, stumped up ￡200,000.

Having fundraised for the Conservatives over many years – and donated significant sums myself – before their transformation into the Real Brexit Party, I understand more than most that cash is essential for a Party machine to function, particularly during election campaigns. But, back then, I believed in the traditional values the Tories were trying to convey and in the motives of the Party Leaders – John Major, William Hague and David Cameron - who were working to sell them to the electorate. I hope the present crop of donors are prepared to bear their share of responsibility for the fate of our country if Johnson wins a majority on 12 December.            

Meanwhile in America…

Two weeks of public impeachment hearings came to an end on Capitol Hill last night with Dr Fiona Hill, originally from County Durham before becoming the lead US Government authority on Russia, rubbishing Donald Trump’s claims that Ukraine had meddled in the 2016 Presidential election rather than Russia. And she told the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee that the US Ambassador to the EU, Gordon Sondland, was “running a personal domestic political errand” for Trump by attempting to push the Ukrainian President into announcing a corruption investigation into Trump’s Democratic rival Joe Biden. 

A written report of the case against the US President will be presented to the House Judiciary Committee in the week beginning 3 December. As it happens, President Trump is due to be in London for a NATO summit that week, just days before the UK General Election. Boris Johnson will act as host. What could possibly go wrong?  

Have a splendid weekend!

Jason

Dr Jason Aldiss BEM

Managing Director, Eville & Jones

You can follow me on Twitter @JasonAldiss