Thread by @PandaScottish

[thread]
 
Interviewer: I love the fact you are developing policy live on television (both chuckle)
 

https://twitter.com/BBCPolitics/status/1217000076264050688

So after having had to listen to this many times
 
Here is a rough transcript

Interviewer: People this morning might have seen their  newspapers the story about the brexit bongs at Big Ben
 
BJ: bongs
 
Interviewer: Do you think there should be bongs on January 31st?

BJ: Well, the bongs cost 500,00 because.. because...
 
Interviewer: Yes, very costly bongs
 
BJ: we...we...we are working up a plan so that people can bung a bob for a big ben bong. Because there are some people who want to ....
 
Interviewer: Bung, Bung a...

BJ: I haven't quite worked it out
 
Interviewer: I love the fact you are developing policy live on television (both chuckle)

BJ: no no, it. Because as everybody knows Big ben is being refurbished they taken, they seem to have taken the clapper away. So we need to restore the clapper in order to bong Big Ben for...on brexit night. That is expensive. So we are looking at whether people ....

Interviewer: .. can fund it
 
BJ: We are looking at. It seems to cost half a million pounds

So WTAF to begin

1. Do you think Big Ben should bong on 31st January 2020
 
Boris can’t say yes

(My answer would be yes. I disagree fundamentally with brexit and its con sold by cheats, liars, racists, frauds, fools,fantasists & 🇷🇺)
 
But they should have the right to commemorate the moment

2. "we are working up a plan" / "I haven't quite worked it out"
 
take your time
 
no really
 
a bit like your brexit plan, your social care plan
 
you take your time

3. "it seems to cost half a million pounds"
 
It will cost half a million pounds
 
It will cost less than half a million pounds
 
It will cost more than half a million pounds
 
Which is it?

Why the surprise?

4. "we are looking at whether people ... can fund it"
 
So is this going to be
 
crowdfunding?
 
sponsorship?

Whichever it is going to be I suggest you need to "work up a plan"

5. The pinnacle moment  - the chuckle
 
BJ: I haven't quite worked it out
 
Interviewer: I love the fact you are developing policy live on television (both chuckle)

6. Oh and just one small point
 
Boris Johnson said the brexit dividend would be £350,000,000 per week
 
Nigel Farage said the brexit dividend would be >£350,000,000 per week
 
Jacob Rees Mogg said the brexit dividend would be 5 x £350,000,000 per week

The cost of bonging Big Ben
 
0.001429% of the weekly Boris Johnson brexit dividend

<0.001429% of the weekly Nigel Farage brexit dividend

0.000286% of the weekly Jacob Rees Mogg brexit dividend

or to put it another way
 
The cost of bonging Big Ben
0.0000027473% of the annual Boris Johnson brexit dividend

0.0000027473% of the annual Nigel Farage brexit dividend

0.0000005495% of the annual Jacob Rees Mogg brexit dividend

If a brexit dividend existed of any meaningful size
 
Then the government should have ok'd the bonging of Big Ben
 
The cost so far £130 billion in lost growth
 
(that's not including comfort letters, extra experts/staff, brexit liabilities)

bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

https://twitter.com/PandaScottish/status/1201096472235847681

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