Thread by @AdamWagner1

On Boris
- MPs make laws and should be subject to them. That's the rule of law
- MPs need extensive free speech protections as democratic debate should be fierce
- Misconduct in public office should be reserved for *abuse* of public office, not lying in heated political debates

- I don't like Boris. I think he did lie over £350m per week
- Politicians lie. We have well-established remedies for that: voting them out and parliamentary disciplinary procedures (including losing posts)
- I am deeply uncomfortable with this being subject of the criminal law

- I worry about where this leads. Once you start down the path of litigating political disputes which began fully in the political arena in court, where does it end?
- This is different to e.g. breaking electoral laws, where the criminal law has been given a role by Parliament

- And people (including me) need to be very careful to check their confirmation bias and imagine how they would feel if the politician they support (as opposed to the one they hate) was subjected to a court summons like this.

- To expand, if Corbyn becomes PM and he has vastly different economic theories than e.g. the ONS, and decides that he simply won't accept their analysis of the economy or whatever, will he be subject to a prosecution?
- Even if he is *objectively wrong* I wouldn't want that

- Don't forget we have Judicial Review, a civil court process by to challenge any decision of politicians
- A court says whether they are irrational/procedurally flawed/breach of human rights
- It's not that courts should never get involved but this is not crime, its politics