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10 tweets,
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A short thread on political integrity.
Or: how the prime minister just openly, repeatedly and brazenly lied to convince us of his pro-NHS credentials. (1/10)
Or: how the prime minister just openly, repeatedly and brazenly lied to convince us of his pro-NHS credentials. (1/10)
12 days after becoming PM, @borisjohnson set out to convince you the NHS was his great priority.
His announcement of £1.8 billion of new money seemed so lavish, so generous, surely his commitment was genuine? (2/10)
thetimes.co.uk/article/anothe…
His announcement of £1.8 billion of new money seemed so lavish, so generous, surely his commitment was genuine? (2/10)
thetimes.co.uk/article/anothe…
@BorisJohnson He doubled down on broadcasting his pro-NHS enthusiasm with multiple speeches, interviews and stage-managed hospital visits. (3/10)
@BorisJohnson He even introduced a clever new pro-NHS hashtag, #OurNHS, to imply that all of us - his government, himself, NHS staff and the public - are in it together, cherishing our health service. (4/10)
@BorisJohnson But immediately, experts like the @NuffieldTrust senior analyst @sallygainsbury challenged Johnson’s claim. At least £1 bn, she argued in this forensic thread, was money that NHS trusts has *already* saved. So – not new at all. (5/10)
@BorisJohnson @NuffieldTrust @sallygainsbury The headlines really didn't look so good now. Suddenly, Johnson’s apparent NHS largesse looked bogus... because it was. (6/10)
thetimes.co.uk/article/row-ov…
thetimes.co.uk/article/row-ov…
@BorisJohnson @NuffieldTrust @sallygainsbury But incredibly, the government decided to brazen it out. Here, for example, health secretary Matt Hancock repeats Johnson’s lie. (7/10)
@BorisJohnson @NuffieldTrust @sallygainsbury Well today, Johnson’s dishonesty has been confirmed beyond doubt. £1 billion of the “new” cash is indeed old money, existing cash. The £1.8 billion claim was a lie. (8/10)
@BorisJohnson @NuffieldTrust @sallygainsbury All of which raises the question: if our prime minister is willing to openly, repeatedly and brazenly lie to convince the public of his pro-NHS credentials, where does this leave political integrity? Is there no moral distance at all between Trump and Johnson? (9/10)
@BorisJohnson @NuffieldTrust @sallygainsbury We've been here before with that bus. Johnson is desperate for you to believe he's pro-NHS. But how, after this, can we believe anything he says about the NHS again? Me, I think he'd privatise it in a heartbeat. (10/10)
