I’ve stopped making fun of those English immigrants in Spain who live in an old fashioned British time bubble in english pubs with English TV, because in a weird way...

...as a liberal & remainer I’m actually becoming...like them.

- A small thread on a strange phenomenon -
2/

We’re familiar with that immigrant cliche. The, for example, Turk who moves to Germany becomes more & more German and yet retains, cherishes a Turkish idea of himself & the land of his youth even as Turkey becomes modern...& then when returning “home” doesn’t recognize it..
3/

I’ve noticed a strange thing happening with me & Britain.
I’m British. I’m English.
I never even bothered to think about.

But the referendum.
& more importantly the post brexit tragedy following it, didn’t challenge my European identity - it, for the 1st time, confirmed it.
4/

So what’s happening is the English part of me is becoming slowly separated from the actual existing UK reality.
The UK that had Brown or Major as a PM, where most MPs at least made a pretense of decency & where nationalism was considered negative rather than our only policy.
5/

So increasingly those English things I cherish belong to the past. Or are timeless like shepherds pie or the countryside.

Maybe I’m a bit like that 60
year old 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 bloke in Alicante who’s ideas of 🇬🇧 are 30 years out of date & whose idea of London is based on Minder.
6/

Maybe us remainers are as nostalgic as Brexiters.
Nostalgic for a time when Yes Minister seemed the worse politics could get.

Musing over this it becomes clear to me that rejoining is no longer about the EU.

It’s about trying to protect some of the things we are losing.
7/

But then I wonder:
If constant shameless scandal, the mainstreaming of fascism, collapse of BBC & complete rejection of any sense of propriety in public life is the new normal..

...then maybe I’m just like that immigrant - dreaming of a homeland that no longer exists.

/ends

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More from @nicktolhurst

28 Apr
+UPDATE+

"Boris Johnson will himself judge if he broke any rules over Downing Street flat refurbishment"

A committee will be set up to look into the matter, but it is understood Boris Johnson to make final decision on his behaviour.
2/

Number of newspapers and media sources now reporting this.

mirror.co.uk/news/politics/…
3/

Boris Johnson has appointed Lord Christopher Geidt to head the committee. Lord Geidt has been a member of the Royal Household and in intelligence Service for much of his career.
Read 5 tweets
28 Apr
I’m always intrigued when British people who are (supposedly) self-declared friends of Ireland call for #Irexit.

- A short thread on what would immediately happen -
2/

#Irexit would have all the problems of Brexit multiplied because of its smaller size, but that isn’t even the worst of it.

The worst thing would be everyone would assume Ireland would leave the EURO. Because how & why would you stay inside EURO but outside the EU?

& then..
3/

So if everyone assumes Ireland would leave the EURO why would anyone keep any savings or cash in Irish banks?

To protect the EURO value of your savings you would simply transfer these to other EU state accounts before your money was converted into as yet unknown currency.
Read 10 tweets
28 Apr
What could possibly explain this strange phenomenon?
2/

..& to the dullards who are saying this will be a boom for English workers. Think actually think about what you are suggesting.

You want Brexit to be a tool whereby we lose a particular cohort of young foreigners from doing modestly paid work and replace them with Brits....
3/

..but the foreigners U.K. govt’s welcomes is for higher paid work.

In other words the role of Brexit is to create incentives for Brits to take lower skilled lower pay work...and foreigners to take higher paid work.

What sort of a country thinks this is good idea?
Read 5 tweets
27 Apr
-UPDATE+

Media sources:
Boris Johnson made comments on his preference for "bodies piled high" rather than a lockdown on several occasions.
2/

This suggests that these comments, rather than being an isolated one-off emotional outburst, actually represented Boris Johnson's thinking.
3/

The leaks on Boris Johnson's comments are thus not intended so much to damage Johnson as to put the record straight.

Ministers leaked lockdown policy in order to constrain Johnson who resisted to the very last moment.
Read 4 tweets
25 Apr
+UPDATE+

The former communist regions of eastern Germany are poised to overtake the economies of the majority of British regions.

While UK economy is generally only about 10% behind that of Germany in overall per capita GDP - something strange is happening below the surface...
2/

UK GDP looks good as an average - but figures are skewed by the powerful London & South East that together have a per capita GDP of € 50 000.

This is higher than 🇩🇪 national average. And as its where vast majority of opinion formers are based influences UK self-perception.
3/

However beyond London + South East, we start to see the UK is so unequal many of its regions are fast being caught up by the poorer ex communist areas.

Already in 2018 Sachsen overtook not only the structutally weak N. East & N Ireland...but Wales, Yourshire & East Midlands.
Read 9 tweets
25 Apr
I see many confused why anti COVID restrictions protestors wear yellow stars.

It’s not because “they don’t understand” - it’s because they believe any slight inconvenience to their freedom - even if it protects thousands of lives - is worse than the death of 6 million people.
People need to understand why this is happening. There’s always been a type (usually a tiny minority of loner men) in society.

This isn’t like in the past.
The yellow colour isn’t by coincidence.
It’s full blown media mainstreamed narcissism.

3/

It’s also wrong to say it’s “Holocaust denial” or “misrepresents the Holocaust”.
Their point is not that the Holocaust didn’t happen..

..their point is “my absolute freedom is more important than 6 million deaths”.

It isn’t “stupidity” - it’s all chosen quite deliberately.
Read 6 tweets

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