We’re probably at least two Conservative leadership elections away from one in which Brexit is agreed to be a disaster in need of remedy. Until that happens, any leader, whether in government or opposition, will simply circle the plughole of inevitable failure like Johnson & May. It’s remarkable to watch from a distance, without the daily necessity of providing analysis & commentary. Tory candidates are mostly competing to promise ever more fantastical fixes to problems of Tory making, all apparently unaware of who’s been in power for *twelve years*.

It’s remarkable how many of the people who profess to be comfortable not only with Zara’s plight but also with their own impoverishment boast about supporting Brexit in their biographies. ‘Patriotism’ that doesn’t extend to concern for actual people is a bleak and ugly spectacle.

https://twitter.com/lbc/status/1509857672438366209

The majority of people who explained to me yesterday that they couldn’t afford to heat their homes *before* price hikes were pensioners. A breast cancer patient in Sheffield who explained that no matter how many layers they wear, the air her & her 86yo husband breathe remains…

THREAD Because I think this might be important. @NadineDorries is the Secretary of State for Culture, *Media* & Sport. She is seeking to introduce legislation designed to address online abuse. In this clip, @MrJohnNicolson reminds her of abuse she has directed at me on here. 1/

https://twitter.com/MrJohnNicolson/status/1456656898338525189

Specifically, she called me a "public school, posh boy fuckwit". Two points: I attended the same public school as her own daughters (!) & I would currently fall foul of Ofcom regulations if I repeated this abuse verbatim on my radio show. But much more importantly... 2/

To save you from wondering: the latest Duncan Smith WW2 nonsense is of a piece with the now almost entirely deranged Mail On Sunday’s front page. Their story is that the Kabul withdrawal (described in triumphant terms in Johnson’s speech last week, remember)… 1/3 …was a catastrophe because some civil servants were working from home. It is mentioned in passing quite far down the story that Dominic Raab, the politician ostensibly in charge of the matter, was on holiday at the time. So, to recap: the government wants you to believe… 2/3

New book out on Thursday. It’s very different from my last one & intensely personal. Instead of explaining how other people end up believing untrue things, I dig deep into the early life experiences that led to me being wrong about a whole heap of things. A (very long) thread: Two years ago today, in the midst of an awful family crisis, I started therapy after finally admitting that I wasn’t providing people I love with the help & support they needed. I did it more in desperation than in hope but scepticism soon gave way to a life-changing experience.

The tactics are clear:

1) Pretend that idiots wishing harm on PM are representative of all govt. critics. (Ignore all examples of harm being wished on govt. critics.)

2) Orchestrate pliant MPs & client journalists in ‘quote tweet’ pile-ons against the most effective criticism. 3) Insist that the govt. has ‘followed the science’ without explaining what science.

4) If pushed on 3, argue that explaining the science will ‘embarrass our allies’.

5) Wibble about ‘national cycles’ when asked why the govt. failed to learn from stark foreign examples.