As those I know best could confirm, I have long feared a No Deal Brexit. I could not see how Gove and Johnson could or would agree to anything else. But now it’s apparent that it is going to happen I am still shocked.
I am shocked even though in one way this does not impact me. I have had an Irish passport for decades. I am one of the lucky ones. So are my close family. We can all still enjoy freedom of movement. But I am still bereft. England has been my home.
I am ashamed of England tonight. I am pleased that Scotland and Northern Ireland held out against Brexit. I could never blame the Welsh. Brexit is an English initiative. The exceptionalism that underpins it is England’s alone. And that is why it is of a England that I am ashamed.
The shame is multifold. Of the arrogance that we are a nation, better than others. That we can still remember WW2 as if we won it. That we can still blame Europeans for faults that are not theirs. That we are too often racist. That we are pig-headed. That we’ve forgotten empathy.
And I am so sorry that so many have been conned. Firstly into believing things that are not true. Johnson, Gove and their gang have always lied shamelessly, from £350m to calling No Deal an Australian agreement. Lying is pathological to them.
I am ashamed that such charlatans came to lead this country. And I chose my word with care. In their own interests they have gutted our future. The destruction of the economy, our governance and society that they have and will deliver will make Thatcher look tame.
And I ashamed that in this country so many people will pay the price for the arrogance of those who have created the mess to come. Unforgivably, many will be amongst our most vulnerable. But I am also angry for those who thought themselves secure who will lose their businesses.
I am angry, sad, ashamed, appalled, and yet I have to believe that despite all the pain, grief and loss that will be suffered by so many, people will respond to this challenge. Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales may make that future their own, and who can blame them?
In all four countries the hope has to be the same. It is that when the anger passes there will be people who want to build back better. Of course, sustainably, but more. We need a new politics. New businesses. New confidence. More care. Deeper understanding. Better societies.
On the bleakest night I have known in the history of this country is it reasonable, despite my feeling distressed at what is to come, to have hope? I could say not, but I know that ultimately people see through fraud. And that they are resilient. The evidence of history is clear.
I refuse to be down. I refuse to give in or succumb to their exploitation. I will not accept their wish to destroy. And I am certain that I am not alone. Tonight the UK looks like it is broken, and as an entity it probably is. But the countries that make it up? They will bounce.
Now is the time for visionaries across all of society. It will be hard. But the alternative is to give up. I do not think people will, whatever in the end their chosen role. The aim is not to Remain. The aim is to Rebuild. That’s what we have to do now. And I think we will.

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More from @RichardJMurphy

12 Dec
I keep hearing people complain that the ‘mainstream media’ does not understand economics and that we’re talked down to as if everything must be explained as if the economy is a household. In this thread I explain all you (and they) need to know. Economics in one thread then....
Very few people seem to understand how money is created. Mainly that’s because when they’re told it seems so simple that they can’t believe something that’s so important that we’re willing to pay a lot to get it is created so easily. This thread explains how money is created.
What this thread also explains is that if we understand money we can completely reimagine how the economy really works, which is the pathway to rebuilding from the mess we are in. Which makes this a pretty big deal. I make no apology for its length as a result.
Read 66 tweets
5 Dec
As some will have noted, there were a lot of reports yesterday on the fact that £50 billion of banks notes are missing in the UK economy. This got me thinking. And as a result I have to suggest that finding that £50 billion of cash would not be hard. Here’s how to do it.
As the Public Accounts Committee of the House of Commons has noted, around £50 billion of banknotes in issue have no explained use. In other words, they do not appear to be used for regular cash transactions. What their alternative use might be is not known.
Some could be in the possession of tourists, who have not bothered to exchange them on leaving the country. But the amounts involved would be small.
Read 28 tweets
28 Nov
I’ve tweeted more about quantitative easing than I really thought to be decent of late. However the questions still keep coming, so here is another QE thread, on the use of QE funds and (especially) the link to the Green New Deal.....
The question I have been asked is does it matter what QE money is spent on, and the honest answer is ‘it’s complicated’. But, maybe not so so complicated if it’s understand that QE came in three stages, each of which is quite different.
Stage 1 QE lasted from 2009 until 2016, when the last round of this stage took place in the UK. The aim at this stage was simple. As always, new money was created by the Bank of England, and mainly government bonds (gilts) were bought. That’s what QE does, in essence.
Read 21 tweets
27 Nov
I have been asked by a number of people, from MPs onwards, to prepare answers to the types of questions being commonly asked about the economy in the Covid era. I can’t see why these things shouldn’t be shared. This thread provides some suggestions.
Should we raise taxes to pay for Covid 19?

Right now, definitely not. We’re facing an economic downturn in 2021. Almost nothing can prevent it. And increasing taxes will take more tax out of the economy, and make the town turn worse. So definitely don’t raise taxes now.
Does that mean we don’t need any tax changes?

No, it doesn’t, but overall taxes mustn’t increase. Tax the wealthy more then, and reduce tax for the poorest. That increases overall spending power in the economy because those least well off spend all their income. But that’s it.
Read 17 tweets
23 Nov
There is an obsession that the national debt must be repaid. Assuming it is properly calculated (and I have real doubt about that) it’s coming on for £2,100 billion. Knowing what makes this up is really important. Then we can decide if we really want to repay it. Stay with me….
Around £200bn of the national debt is made up of National Savings & Investments. That's things like Premium Bonds and the really safe savings accounts older people tend to appreciate. So why do we want to force these people into riskier savings accounts? I don't think we do.
Around £400bn of the national debt is owned by foreign gov'ts. That's cool: they want to fund us. They do that because they want to hold our currency. That's because that helps them trade with the UK. Would we want to force them to take their money back in that case? I doubt it.
Read 9 tweets
22 Nov
There’s massive misunderstanding about what QE is and what it does. So please forgive a long thread on one of the most important tools used in modern economics, which if used properly might provide real hope for a better future.
Outside Japan QE was unknown until 2009. Since then the UK has done £845 billion of it. This is a big deal as a consequence. But as about half of that has happened this year it’s appropriate to suggest that there have been two stage of QE, so far. And I suggest we need a third.
Stage 1 QE started in 2009 and was last used in 2016. It created £445bn of new money. That was used to buy £435bn of government bonds, or gilts, and £10bn of corporate bonds, which we can ignore. There were three goals to first stage QE.
Read 68 tweets

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