Analysis

12 biggest Brexit election lies

by Hugo Dixon | 06.12.2019
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • +1
  • LinkedIn 0
  • Email

Boris Johnson and his acolytes are spouting untruths and lies virtually every time they open their mouths. Here are 12 of the worst – and our rebuttals of them.

‘Get Brexit done’ is the biggest lie

There are at least eight reasons why voting for the Tories won’t put an end to Brexit. The fastest way to move on from Brexit is to kick the Tories out, call a referendum and stop Brexit.

Of course, the EU doesn’t stop us planting trees

This is a Michael Gove slur. The EU actually provides cash to encourage tree-planting. Our government just doesn’t use it.

We don’t need to leave the EU to scrap the tampon tax

The Prime Minister wrongly cites the tampon tax as a reason for Brexit. The EU wants to change the VAT regime to allow a zero rate for sanitary products.

EU migrants aren’t scrounging on the NHS 🔗

EU citizens living in the UK contribute more to the public finances than Brits – and we get the right to use other EU countries’ health systems too. What’s unfair about that?

No fish quotas? Pull the other one.

Johnson claims we’ll take back control of our marine wealth. But he has agreed with the EU to aim for a new fisheries agreement including quotas by July.

EU migration isn’t nearly as big as non-EU migration

Migration from the EU is only a fifth as big as the non-EU flow. Given that Johnson is weaponising migration, it’s odd he doesn’t know the basic facts.

Live animal pledge ain’t what it seems

Examine the Prime Minister’s weasel words and he isn’t actually promising to abolish the live transport of animals. What’s more, we can tighten the current rules without quitting the EU.

Nope, our rights aren’t guaranteed

Johnson claims his Withdrawal Agreement protects worker and consumer rights, and environmental standards. It doesn’t.

Brexit won’t make us safer

We’ll be less safe if we don’t keep EU crime-fighting tools – and much of Priti Patel’s five-point plan to make us safer can be implemented without Brexit.

Freeports aren’t a reason for Brexit

We can create freeports without quitting the EU. Whether that’s wise is another matter. Margaret Thatcher tried and they weren’t a great success.

Tidal wave of investment? Another pipedream.

Foreign firms have cut investment fearing we’ll lose access to the EU market. The only way to get a tidal wave is to stop Brexit.

No checks in the Irish Sea? Who are you kidding, Mr Johnson?

The Prime Minister has agreed that Northern Ireland will follow hundreds of EU rules to do with customs and so forth. As a result, there’ll be checks in the Irish Sea – in both directions, as a leaked Treasury analysis admits.

The final para referencing the debate on December 6 was removed on December 7

  • Tweet
  • Share
  • +1
  • LinkedIn 0
  • Email

Edited by Rachel Franklin

Categories: Uncategorised

2 Responses to “12 biggest Brexit election lies”

  • The conservative have been allowed to get away with lying to the people – this is bad enough – even worse is that the British media. Including the BBC. sadly have allowed lies to go unchallenged but the villains are the RW popular press which have supported the deceit in a way designed to manipulate abd deceive in order to suppoer the Tories. Our popular press must be the worse in the world. If the Tories win the election it will have been won on untruths lies and deceipt. The truth and meanungful debate has been missing – shame on British media.

  • But this is not new. Prior to 1939 the Daily Mail specifically endorsed the idea of allying ourselves with Hitler – not simply a non aggression pact but actually joining in his foul plans for world domination and the extermination of jews and other minorities. AH is long gone but the Mail hasn’t changed its tune much. It and the Sun (once slated to be reclassified as a comic) are both disgusting right wing rags and no one with a brain will read them. They’re not even much good in the loo.