The Twitterati are no Twits

Haven't blogged in ages, but been thinking about it for a bit recently. Mostly I've been on Twitter. Much more lurking than engaging, but there is some gold in them hills - once you learn to discern the spambots from the real people of course. What's really been interesting of late is that almost everything that the government and other forces of Brexit ever say about our impending departure from the EU gets analytically taken apart with facts, figures and actual expert analysis. It's fascinating, but whilst this happens on a daily basis on my mobile phone the official opposition and others in Westminster are apparently sanguine about an illegally won, advisory referendum which effectively split the vote driving us out of an organisation that we helped found and set the rules for. This one has gone viral - and admittedly it is Farage, rather than anyone significant - but there are plenty more in the sea.

Dear Mr Farage, as an NHS doctor who cares for terminally ill inpatients, let me tell you what’s disgraceful. 1/n https://t.co/jYIXmzGdzz

— Rachel Clarke (@doctor_oxford) August 16, 2018

Check out this one

First was 1992, NOT to leave or remain, but to ratify Maastricht. Split was 50.7% to 49.3%. It was rerun a year later, in 1993, after Denmark got opt outs in four key areas, including currency and defence. It split 56.7% to 43.3% for ratification. Do you people just not do facts? https://t.co/RxV4XC4g2K

— Alex Andreou (@sturdyAlex) August 19, 2018

But what is the source of all the claims made by Brexiteers? Where do they get this guff from? They can't just make it up surely? They get fed this nonsense from somewhere. My own opinion is that back when Bojo the clown was penning his amusing skits on the European Union he was making up stuff to paint the EU in a poor light and as the subject of his 'British' humour. Some mild mocking for the tall popinjays of the EU, let them know that we're not for being bossed about by bureaucrats like them. It wasn't difficult to see that the author of these skits was as much a George MacDonald Fraser fan as myself. It wasn't even worrying that his satirical musings were as fast and loose with the facts as Flashman - indeed, the Flashman papers are often surprisingly accurate on their historical details, unlike our dear Bojo.. It seems now though that his caricatures of the EU 'unelected Eurocrats' did chime with some people. They read and believed, They took him at his word and they didn't find the humour, they found fuel for their ire. The caricatures came to life in the febrile imaginings of those angry little Englanders who choked on the thought of Johnny Foreighner pan frying British cod with Spanish Chorizo. And here we find ourselves 20 years later having to snuff out the fires, which were once mere sparks of humour - but the joy of seeing that log sparking on the hearth, is now replaced with the grown up fear the the curtains might well catch fire. Anyway, the old Chinese curse of living in interesting times has caught up with us. The times are far too interesting for my liking at this point. I worry for my kids future. I worry about the way the media and official opposition seem so aquiescent in allowing an internal tory dispute to drive us into the arms of Jacob Rees-Mogg and his crew of utter shites! A bunch of Eton boys who fantasised of running the country, without ever knowing what the country was. What a shambles! Something must happen to change this. People need to start mobilising and arguing this clearly. Arguments need to be had, which means thoughts need to be assembled and aired. The mood needs to change and these people who are failing us so desperately need to be removed from power permanently.