People are going to die because of #Brexit.
There are many reasons why people may die as a consequence of the 2016 referendum.
Not all will come to pass. But at least some will - and some already have.
So be in no doubt, people *will* die.
/1
They may die because they do not get the medicines they need.
They may die because of strains on the NHS through lack of staff.
They may die because a trade deal with Trump involves a revolution in healthcare that takes it beyond reach of the poorest.
/2
They may die early because they cannot afford a healthy diet when there are food shortages and price rises.
They may die because they cannot afford care home fees or of self-neglect when there is no one to look after them after the unwanted Eastern Europeans have gone home.
/3
They may die because violence erupts when some people don’t like the fact that we have or haven’t left the EU on terms that suit them.
They may die because violence erupts when people realise that they have been cheated and lied to and are even poorer than before.
/4
They may die at their own hands because the farm they have tended all their lives or the business they built from scratch has gone to the wall.
They may die at their own hands because their job disappeared when their employer abandoned the UK.
/5
They may die because we end up at war. With ourselves, with Russia or with terrorists.
/6
There are many, many ways that people may die thanks to Brexit, the angst it has caused and the billions that have been diverted from solving the problems of this country into creating enemies of our closest friends.
/7
It is inevitable that people will die because of that referendum.
/8
We have a government with no mandate leading us to catastrophe, urged on by a baying media. Who is leading this charge? Those with the least to lose. Look at the bank balances of the Johnsons, the Goves, the Rees-Moggs, the Murdochs, the Desmonds, the Dacres, the Barclays.
/9
They are conducting their own campaign of terrorism, their own Project Fear. They are trying to frighten MPs into submission, first by making them scared they’ll lose their seats and now by ramping up the no-deal rhetoric so that they’ll approve any half-cocked plan.
/10
Cameron, Farage, May, Johnson, Cummings, Corbyn, McCluskey, Milne. They’re all culpable. We didn’t need to do this to ourselves and these people could have stopped it.
/11
Not one of them has yet put forward a single benefit of leaving the EU beyond “the people voted for it”. It started out as “taking back control” and “sovereignty”. Now it’s “believe in Britain” in the face of food and fuel shortages.
/12
They undoubtedly all have a vision of the future they want for the UK - free-trade haven or socialist utopia.
But it’s a long-distant future. It won’t appear in my lifetime.
And before it does, people who should have lived will die.
/13
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Yet another thread about #PostOfficeScandal and the Press.
@thetimes has today published a leader rightly praising some dogged journalists over the years and defending the national Press from people - like me - who ask couldn't they have done more 1/
@thetimes The leader says the scandal has been covered "thousands of times" in newspapers. The Times has, it says, published 383 stories, the Mail 343, the Telegraph 234, the Sunday Times 152.
These figures chime with those cited in a tweet by @MrHarryCole last week. 2/
@thetimes @MrHarryCole You'd like to think that @TheTimes would check these sorts of "facts" before using them in a leader. Maybe it did. But I fear it didn't.
I recognise that results panel from a cuttings archive service.
I have tried to replicate them using a variety of search terms.
3/
Please correct me if I’m wrong. I often am.
I seem to recall that Russian people donated millions to various political people. There was evidence that they sought to influence the outcomes of the Scottish referendum and the US presidential election.
1/
There was so much concern about possible interference in our democracy that our Intelligence Select committee conducted an inquiry, under the chairmanship of Dominic Grieve.
2/
For some inexplicable reason, the Government seemed nervous of publishing its conclusions. Certainly it didn’t want it out before the 2019 general election.
3/
Thread from another planet:
This is an extract from today’s Daily Mail leader, which is headlined “PM can bounce back from this humbling”.
First it describes his remorse as “sincere”, then congratulates his “masterstrokes”... 1/
...Then it says that if he lifts remaining restrictions we will be 1st developed country to exit pandemic - and he will be a "hero".
Exit the pandemic?
2/
The official Covid death figure yesterday was 398, the highest for a year. The day before it was 379.
The rolling weekly toll is 1,724, up 44% on last week. 3/
OK, I’m going to regret this. But I’m going to throw this at you anyway.
I haven’t listened to the news for 24 hours. I haven’t watched live TV. I haven’t opened this morning’s papers.
(1/zillions)
The Duke of Edinburgh died yesterday. He was 99. Outlived by Captain Tom. I’m sure the Queen will find it odd not to have him around after three-quarters of a century. But most of us will manage.
(2/)
I’m an old white biddy, exactly the sort of person the Press and broadcasters assume will be most interested in this national tragedy.
But I’m not. And people even older than me aren’t distraught with grief either. It’s of passing interest. But it’s a fact of life.
(3/)
Always a challenge to strike the right note on the front with a story like #Philip. Not least the choice of picture - the way most think of him or a man in his prime?
ICYMI a few thoughts on today's offering.
First, it's not about *you* and *your* grief.
(1/)
Yes, you want to tell people what's inside. But try to dial down the self-promotion. A "magical" supplement? And "historic *144* pages? That screams "don't buy me"
...and do we need to be told about a Monday supplement on today's front page?
(2/)
It's good to recognise that not *all* your readers may be completely obsessed by the royals. They might like to know you're offering something else.
There are ways to do it....and, perhaps, ways not to do it...
(3/)
A thread...
The “we’re not racist” drums are beating loudly and proudly today. If we’re truly making progress, that’s great.(1)
I’m particularly struck by what has been identified as the key cause for this celebration:
'Education is the single most emphatic success story of the British ethnic minority experience'
(2)
'The Commission notes that the average GCSE attainment score for Indian, Bangladeshi and Black African pupils was above the White British average.'
(3)