Folks, we have a problem. A very big one. The outright idiocy of Sir Christopher Meyer and the poisonous assertions made by the Spectator in respect of the WTO option, repeated by Kate Hoey have gained considerable traction among Brexiters. This is an all out war on knowledge and good sense.
It's one thing to conclude that we must leave the EU - another entirely to duck all the complex questions by claiming no deal will be fine. That is a lie and this is a wilful attempt to mislead the public using some of the most influential vessels in UK media.
This is made worse by a commentariat without the knowledge or curiosity to challenge these lies. Worse still, the people who tell this lie trade entirely on prestige. Consequently far too many people will unquestioningly believe it if it confirms their existing narrative.
There is a strong tribal dynamic here in that Tories will not think for themselves. they will look to whatever an opinion gatekeeper is saying and toe the lie accordingly. This is why the likes of Julia Dunning-Kruger and Kate Hoey serve as useful idiots.
As grossly irresponsible as it is to public such misinformation, BrexitCentral and the Spectator do it deliberately. The "ultras" repeat their lies, ad nauseam. But they never do detail, always sticking to generalities. They are unprincipled propagandists.
This is in part a consequence of ultra remainers seeking to reverse the vote. That was only ever going to drive Brexiters to the extremes - but primarily there is a disaster capitalist agenda at work here aided by zealous Tories who simply do not understand modern trade.
The bigger problem is that no amount of factual argument is likely to change minds. It's wasted breath. They will obfuscate and cloud the debate with jargon to paper over the cracks in their arguments. Their followers will believe it because they want to.
It is, therefore, an article of faith that any criticism is simply "project fear" from "remoaners". We are dealing with indestructible stupidity and any number of threads, explainers and blogs will not make a dent. Believe me, I've tried.
We are now at a point where Brexiters, usually especially thick Tories, now accuse me of being a remainer. Using facts is like a Sherman shell fired at a King Tiger. It just bounces off. Every breath is wasted.
In effect the Tory right has declared all out war on all of us. And this is not trivial. This will decide the UK's international standing for the next half century - and will make us substantially poorer and less influential. So we have to go on the attack. All of us.
This is no longer a battle over Brexit. This is an attempt by the Tory right to hijack the referendum to push a warped version of free markets on an unsuspecting public, demolishing all of our trade defences and opening the floodgates to foreign commercial predators.
Not for nothing do the ultras have ties to US agricultural, banking and private health interests. They don't care about Brexit and they certainly don't care about democracy or sovereignty. They will sell the UK to the highest bidder.
These people are not conservatives. They are not interested in a successful Brexit outcome, they don't care what damage it does to our allies, particularly Ireland, and they don't care how many jobs it kills. They simply don't care about you or yours.
If the UK leaves without a deal we assume the legal status of third country and subject to standard third country controls losing all market participation rights under the treaties - so yes there WILL be port jams and yes there will be shortages and airlines will not fly.
This is not project fear. This is simply what happens when you terminate all of your formal relations with your nearest and largest trade partner. We are then in a state of damage control with zero leverage. No patriot would want us in that position.
The ultras will say we trade with the rest of the world on WTO terms. That is a lie. They say we can use the WTO TFA to get thee trucks rolling. That is also a lie. These fanatics are lying through their teeth and they know it. This is a war - and one we cannot afford to lose.
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