Thread by @PandaScottish

[thread]

I have taken a few days to compose my thoughts around this short video

As there are so so many thoughts

So pull up a pew

And we can begin

https://twitter.com/Jacob_Rees_Mogg/status/1332371162341515267

The words in the tweet

"The first duty of the British government is to its subjects. The Chancellor is providing £4 billion of taxpayers’ money to support the economies of the midlands and the north this parliament. "

And

the discussion

So it's a tough call

Do you focus on Jacob's word on the tweet first

Or the video

Let's focus on Jacob's tweet first

"The first duty of the British government is to its subjects."

This is a good observation from Richard

https://twitter.com/RichardToye/status/1332679123731423234

"The first duty of the British government is to its subjects."

I would go on two points

First - whom the first duty is to

And that is it’s the nation’s citizens

Second - what that duty is

Oh yes

And just intentionally

I am going to bully you with a thread here

On the "prittster"

https://twitter.com/PandaScottish/status/1330838685605093377

Now I have an awful lot to say on that first duty

I want Jacob to answer - how he thinks the government have done on that first duty

Amidst tens of thousands dead

And the wider socio-economic damage from coronavirus

How did you do Jacob?

How did you fulfil that first duty?

I have a simple thread on that first duty

A really simple one

You take away all the noise

All the spin

And look at actions

It is a long thread (apologies) - you can always bookmark and come back to it later

https://twitter.com/PandaScottish/status/1322210694037725184

"The Chancellor is providing £4 billion of taxpayers’ money to support the economies of the midlands and the north this parliament."

Now note

Jacob is not saying

This government

Or this party

He is specifically name dropping the Chancellor

Go #TeamRishiForPM

Words matter

So again what are you supporting the economies from?

Is it from austerity?

Well Jacob would know all about the effects of that

As affirmed Maggie & Liz here

https://twitter.com/PandaScottish/status/1320685911500345345

As (Baroness) Nicky Morgan affirmed here

Is it from brexit?

Well Jacob would know all about the effects of that

See here also:

ft.com/content/5d1004…

Just kidding

Jacob wouldn't know all about that

After all he only reads horoscopes

theneweuropean.co.uk/brexit-news/ja…

Is it from coronavirus?

Well Jacob would know all about the effects of that

https://twitter.com/ProfTimBale/status/1297883905761173504

Anyway enough about the words in the tweet

Now we turn to the words in the question & answer

Now we go back to when that UK aid target was enshrined in law

With resistance from

Well

Some of the the usual Tory suspects

bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politi…

Including one Jacob Rees Mogg

He loves to lower things

By a very long way

independent.co.uk/news/uk/politi…

See also here

I will come back to this in a minute

commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-brief…

See the stages of that Bill

services.parliament.uk/Bills/2014-15/…

So I want to just quote the closing remarks in that final reading

publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201415/cm…

That closing remark

Chimes also with the House of Commons Library Research Paper I said I would come back to

What I admire is that they haven’t felt the need to quote specific stories that try to smear foreign aid

They just link to one newspaper

dailymail.co.uk/news/foreignai…

Now I have been kind

I have given the Daily Mail the chance to put its side first

quora.com/Why-is-the-Dai…

There is of course the opposing side

globaljustice.org.uk/blog/2017/oct/…

independent.co.uk/news/media/pre…

"Despite being unelected, unaccountable and uninformed about the aid industry, the Daily Mail (and its sibling MoS) loves to attack anything that looks like poor people getting hold of UK taxpayers' money. It doesn't matter who those poor people are

thenewhumanitarian.org/opinion/2017/0…

"when you find yourselves getting fruitlessly angry the next time it publishes some swill, just remember the wisdom attributed to George Bernard Shaw: "I learned long ago, never to wrestle with a pig. You get dirty, and besides, the pig likes it.""

amp.theguardian.com/commentisfree/…

And a reminder

Those who peddle myths on foreign aid - just like those who peddle myths on immigration*

*other topics are available

So unsurpsingly - after a decade of attacks on foreign aid

Those attacks with their lies still continue

e.g. on foreign aid to China

https://twitter.com/talkRADIO/status/1331893471121170432

Now it doesn't matter that Andrew Mitchell destroyed that lie

"The UK ended its traditional bilateral aid programmes with China (March 2011) and India (Dec 2015). "

Any money the UK sends China's way or India's way

Is via the Foreign Office or BEIS

gov.uk/government/new…

Julia just skates around that to her next nonsense

You need to ask yourself a very simple question

Why do people WANT you to get SO ANGRY at foreign aid?

Now in writing this thread

I uncovered this old one

From the launch of a general election campaign back in 2010

You remember that one chaos with Ed Miliband vs ....

theguardian.com/politics/2010/…

"In every area, on every issue, our modern Conservative values are clear,"

Every area

Every single area

And of course "modern" values

So so modern

And they are "clear"

So so clear

"We stand for the working people that Labour has abandoned with their jobs tax and their waste,"

Again

We go back to how well a global financial crash was weaponised against Labour

mainlymacro.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/facts-…

You need to feed the lies upon which austerity was based

It was always a political choice

Never based on economics

independent.co.uk/voices/conserv…

Back to David's words

"Manifestos, policies, acts of parliament – all these things are powerful, but not as powerful as acts of people," he said, warning that Britain could only deal with its debts and broken society if people joined together.

"join together"

The eternal plea

The Tory leader quoted John F Kennedy's famous challenge to the American people in his 1961 inaugural address.

(I managed not to vomit at this)

"As a great American president once said: 'Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.' So, ask what you can do for your country – and, yes, for your family and for your community too."

Now as a counterpoint

Here is a reminder of David's aunt & mother who had something to say on what David did to his country

Such that his family were protesting it

So anyway

Sorry

I got distracted into giving a backdrop to foreign aid

Now back to Jacob and Ben's words

Ben first

"All of the polling out there suggests "

You don't do something is popular

You do something because you believe it is right

"the British public will welcome plans to divert foreign aid spending into UK priorities at this difficult time"

What difficult time?

Boris Johnson claimed covid was a massive success
He claimed austerity is over
He claimed brexit was done

What is difficult?

"divert foreign aid spending into UK priorities"

so defence got >£16 billion

So I am not sure whether it is more insulting

To have used the £4bn of foreign aid cuts as a sop to the northern red wall

Or to have used the £4bn of foreign aid to funnel into defence

It does perhaps reflect

Northern constituencies get £4bn

Defence gets > £16bn

You can be damn sure that some of that >£16bn will be spaffed on Tory held or Tory target constituencies

e.g. like the towns list below

bbc.co.uk/news/amp/uk-po…

Now there of course is a huge controversy over Robert Jenrick and Jake Berry both approving the others constituency for a pot of taxpayers money that just happened to be significant and land pre-general election

independent.co.uk/news/uk/politi…

This misses a more vital point

The list of towns requiring desperate attention after a decade of Tory rule is huge

Those who levelled the country down

Know what they did

"I believe that turning the £4 billion sent abroad into a £4 billion levelling up fund for our most disadvantaged communities is the right move - in fact its long overdue."

Your reminder

Had a government 2010-2020 wanted to spend £4bn

It is quite a small amount to allocate in terms of overall government spending

Just do it

"we will have some of it up in Mansfield please."

What so it can go to crack dens and brothels?

inews.co.uk/news/politics/…

So that is us done with Ben

I have given him more time than I meant to

Kidding

Here is Ben

Peddling a trope of "defund the police" to attack Black Lives Matter

And a reminder of a decade of the policy choices of HIS party

https://twitter.com/PandaScottish/status/1271797931604131841

On to Jacob now

Yes the illustrious leader of the house

A man who lies to a nation as easily as he lies to a Queen

And as easily as he lies on a bench

independent.co.uk/voices/jacob-r…

A man whose common sense well

Ended up with him being hidden even more securely in a fridge amidst a general election than well Boris

theguardian.com/politics/2019/…

Sorry I got distracted there I will get distracted again with Jacob again shortly

But first lets focus on his words

"I think that people will very much welcome the announcement made by the Government yesterday - other than possibly a few Islingtonians"

I am curious

Why would a few "Islingtonians" object?

Why does he so want to attack a few of the people in Islington?

Here's a reminder

Of the legacy of a decade of austerity on Islington

islington.gov.uk/~/media/sharep…

See also

Now just imagine the mother of a Prime Minister had written that

islington-labour.org.uk/austeritymuste…

Thatcher said something about people who play the person rather than the ball

And Jacob - well he plays the person well "a few people" in this case

And you have to look at him and wonder

Why would you do that?

What does your divisiveness seek to do ?

If only there was some hint

Steve:
"let them call you racists

let them call you xenophobes

let them call you nativists

wear it as a badge of honour“

theguardian.com/politics/2017/…

Now onto Jacob's next sentence

"The Government takes its responsibility for the people of the north and midlands very seriously many of whom have placed their trust in the Conservatives for the first time last december."

Oh you take it "very seriously"

"Austerity cuts have fallen hardest on deprived communities in the north of England, which are enduring the highest poverty rates and weakest economies, according to a study."

theguardian.com/society/2019/j…

"the poorest areas have borne the brunt of council spending cuts. Local authority spending has fallen nationally by half since 2010, with areas such as Liverpool, Blackburn and Barnsley facing average cuts twice that of their counterparts in the more affluent south"

"The five cities and towns that have suffered the biggest falls in spending over the past eight years are from the north of England: Barnsley (-40%), Liverpool (-32%), Doncaster (-31%), Wakefield (-30%) and Blackburn (-27%). The British average is -14.3%."

So when Jacob says he takes it "seriously"

What does he mean by that?

After all in addition to David Cameron's mother & aunt

There is another politician who had his concerns about austerity

mirror.co.uk/news/politics/…

I must have missed the period 2010-2016 where Boris Johnson did something about those concerns

After all he must have seen the consequences not only falling on his city as London mayor but when he was an MP on his constituency

What did he do about it?

Did he write a letter like David Cameron's family did?

Did he write 2 letters?

Was he to borrow a Priti Patel phrase a damn "do-gooder" ?

All that concerned Johnson is power

Its pursuit

And

Its winning

After all Dominic Cummings made clear what helped win it for Vote Leave

Or as Farage put it "breaking point"

Immigrants naturally in the period 2010 onwards a handy xenophobic distraction device

From a Conservative party who KNEW the consequences of their austerity policies

And who needed something to take the focus away from that

Anyone remember that contract on "tens of thousands"

There is a simple question

After a decade of austerity

Ask those who say they want to "level up"

Whom and what are they levelling up FROM?

https://twitter.com/PandaScottish/status/1202012607928061952

To wrap up

In the end we come to a simple observation

Well several actually

First

Is that those very areas of the country that the Tories have inflicted the *most* harm on

Now want those areas to CHEER harming the aid & charity we give to the poorest countries in the world to help their to borrow a phrase "ramp up" from poverty

https://twitter.com/JustinWelby/status/1332625349604237314

The gall

Of getting the poorest in one country to cheer on harm on the poorest of other countries

Second

The actual value of the money

e.g. like here as a comparison

I would go back to Jacob's post on the first duty of governmnet

If Jacob can make up words to suit himself

Then unsurprisingly so can Boris

https://twitter.com/BorisJohnson/status/1329350474789752833

The question you have to ask yourself

Is why they chose the words they do - hell they aren't even consistent

They both chose jingoistic terms to appeal to their audience

Jacob with subjects

Boris with realm

Play that jingoistic flag waving nationalistic bullshit card

Here's a reminder of the damage to defence due to brexit

Anyone remember that easy deal we were going to get around Galileo

Anyone?

https://twitter.com/PandaScottish/status/1010121372335566848

Oh and to compare that £16.5 billion on defence

Here's a reminder £22 billion

uk.reuters.com/article/uk-hea…

But I am not going to put my comparison into either of those values

Instead

I am going to compare it with something else

Yes

That glorious brexit dividend that awaits us in the sunlit uplands

Your reminder

From a Prime Minister who took a personal interest in the "Bung a Bob for a Big Ben Bong" to celebrate brexit

The cost of bonging Big Ben
0.0000027473% of the annual Vote Leave brexit dividend

I wrote a thread on that Bung campaign

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

But anyway

Back to that £4 billion for the Midlands/North

£4 billion

Is

Half a DUP bung (£2bn for coalition)

In brexit dividend terms

11 weeks of Vote Leave (£350m/week)

Less than 11 weeks of the Nigel Farage (>£350m/week)

2.3 weeks of Jacob Rees Mogg (>£1.75bn/week)

Oh yes and that Jacob Rees Mogg dividend

When you are challenged on a lie

And to your constituents faces you just spout utter delusional nonsense because you cannot answer the lie

And still his constituents elect him

I quoted the Archbishop of Canterbury earier

Here's another religious figure

edition.cnn.com/2018/01/24/wor…

Anyway back to that £4 billion

In terms Jacob Rees Mogg could understand

£4 billion is 10% of the danegeld

Yes

Those liabilities the UK has to the EU

A story below on that Danegeld ending with a thread focusing on Jacob Rees Mogg and so many stories

https://twitter.com/PandaScottish/status/13312385881896960

And just a rough reminder on the damage

*SO FAR*

On leaving the EU

>£4.4bn brexit prep cost

£170bn BOE stimulus cost

>£130bn lost growth (so far)

£39bn liabilities

Oh yes and a reminder on covid

https://twitter.com/ProfTimBale/status/1297883905761173504

And a reminder

independent.co.uk/news/uk/politi…

So

We end on an article from Boris Johnson

Yes our glorious herd leader

Our blessed Lion King as one of his MPs calls him

https://mobile.twitter.com/DailyMailUK/status/1333112247133089792

Now

I am not going to do a write up of that utter bullshit from Boris Johnson

Instead

I am going to end with two threads

One on Boris Johnson

An amoral, cheating, lying, racist, incompetent self serving charlatan

Whose role was the figure head of a brexit con sold by cheats, liars and racists

All for self and power

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

And sadly Amber Rudd didn't even forsee the damage he would wrought *beyond brexit*

'You can't trust him to take you home at the end of an evening'

independent.co.uk/news/uk/politi…

I end now with a thread on coronavirus

I wrote this in August 2020

Those blessed summer months

Where Boris Johnson called coronavirus a massive success

At its heart a simple question

If this is success - what would failure look like?

https://mobile.twitter.com/PandaScottish/status/1298934733813014528

@threadreaderapp unroll please