Thread by @Usherwood

One of the least pleasant parts of this phase of Brexit is the "whose fault is it that it's all going so badly?"

So let's unpick it a bit, shall we?

1/

It's important in systems to have review and evaluation mechanisms: to reflect on what's happened, informing what comes next

But that's not what this is

2/

Firstly, consider the formulation of the question: it assumes things are going badly, which is already a major push on the framing front. If you're really interested in evaluation, you ask "how are things going?"

3/

Instead, this really about managing exposure to damage from the process and laying the groundwork for what comes next

4/

In politics, as in other walks of life, blame is not often sought out. If you can pass/push it on to someone else, then most people will do that, especially (in politics) if you can gain an advantage over opponents in so doing

5/

Typically then, looking for someone to blame is a prelude to blaming your opponent, regardless of whether the evidence points most strongly in that direction

6/

And right now, there's a lot of this going on, not least because Brexit looks like it has a lot more costs going around than benefits

7/

Certainly there needs to be a review and evaluation of how the Brexit process has been pursued, but that's a different thing from what's happening now

8/

but for now, the more pressing issue is how to make the most of the situation in which we find ourselves

/end