Jon Massey retweeted
We are astonished to see the UK government take such punishing action against UK citizens with non-British family members. It effectively strips a key citizenship right - the right to return to live in the UK - from UK overseas with non-UK family members. We will oppose this.
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Jon Massey retweeted
I’m wading into this debate. I don’t even know why it’s a debate. I’d love Greece to have its beautiful Parthenon marbles back.
I mean, it’s been really lovely to have them on extended loan, but they’re not ours.
Jon Massey retweeted
Let’s use the tweet below to explain something about why science is successful and politics today is largely dysfunctional. The person to which Jim responded asks for an apology if new data or evidence is presented which causes someone to change their view. Why? The process of updating ones view as new information or knowledge is acquired is central to science, and by extension to our rational understanding of the world. Demanding an apology from someone who engages in this vital activity is tantamount to demanding an apology for the enlightenment. Essentially, it represents the view that it is a personal insult to disagree over the interpretation of data. Nature, however, doesn’t care about your feelings and if it turns out that your opinion is wrong, no apology is necessary and indeed celebration is in order because you’ve learnt something new about Nature.
Jon Massey retweeted
“Whenever I’m about to do something, I think ‘Would an idiot do that?’ and if they would, I do not do that thing.” – Dwight Schrute
And what is the best way to spot an idiot? Look for the person who is cruel.
Jon Massey retweeted
There's no shame in not knowing things! It's Okay to say "I don't know"
The only shame is to pretend that we know everything.
Jon Massey retweeted
There is a very simple way around this issue. No planning permission is required to fly a flag of any international organisation of which the UK is a member. The UK is a member of the Council of Europe. The flag of the Council of Europe is… theguardian.com/uk-news/2023… – at Greenwich, London
Jon Massey retweeted
As it is apparently ‘Brexit Day’ and the usual grifters are ‘celebrating’ while desperately pretending Brexit has been a success - or claiming it would have been a success if it were their ‘proper’ Brexit, who better to sum up than Stewart Lee….
Jon Massey retweeted
Brexit is now, in a majority of voters minds, linked with high interest rates, trade friction, travel friction and general incompetence. The reality may be more complex, but that doesn’t matter - it’s about perception, and the perception is that Brexit is not only a failure but a liability. And there is more pain to come. This is why in my view, coupled with demographic change, it is inevitable that we will soon begin the process of rejoining the single market and customs union no matter what Labour or the Conservatives say at the next election. This irresistible pressure will probably split the Conservative Party, which is ironic because Cameron’s only strategic aim in calling the referendum in the first place was to placate fringe elements of the Party. Thanks Dave! theguardian.com/politics/202…
Jon Massey retweeted
Today marks 7 years since the UK voted to leave the EU. Brexit has been a disaster.
Rejoining the EU will take time, but we must start our journey back.
By aligning UK-EU standards, and rejoining the Single Market, gradually, we can rebuild our relations with Europe again 🇬🇧🇪🇺
Jon Massey retweeted
1/11
EXCLUSIVE: Last year I tweeted my story that @BorisJohnson had faked nearly dying of Covid-19, otherwise known as the #Deathgate scandal.
But now, after a 3 year investigation, we have discovered it was MUCH WORSE than that.
A multimedia THREAD from Stop Lying In Politics.
Jon Massey retweeted
Tomorrow marks seven years since the Brexit vote & the pantomime of right-wing elites in British politics continues.
Even the regions with the biggest Brexit vote know they were tricked. Time to take back control & rejoin EU!
mirror.co.uk/news/politics/j…
Jon Massey retweeted
This is silly stuff from @UKLabour-
Of course everyone understands that Labour does not want to fight Brexit ahead of the next GE…
…but repeatedly painting yourself into this corner unprompted?
And tiny tinkering in Brexit land will not redress/reset SU, CU & FoM deficits.
Jon Massey retweeted
This is simply not good enough.
bit.ly/3qT1Bho
Jon Massey retweeted
The pathetic abstentions yesterday are more evidence of how contagious & corrosive Johnson’s moral corruption has always been. To rise to the very top on a tide of lies & cowardice taints everything in its wake. The abstainers have no idea what honour looks like. If they ever did
Jon Massey retweeted
We thought we ought to address this rubbish. 👇
1. The EU's "ever closer Union" does not equate to a centralised state, but fosters solidarity, mutual benefit, and shared values. The UK wouldn't be rejoining an unknown entity, but one it helped shape.
2. The idea of Brexit restoring powers to the UK is a myth. Sovereignty was never lost but shared to achieve common goals. Pooled sovereignty enhances, not diminishes, national power by achieving collectively what can't be done individually.
3. As Brexit's fallout has shown, self-interested decisions often result in self-harming outcomes. The costs have far outweighed the supposed gains - loss of frictionless trade, workforce shortages, and a devalued global standing.
4. Fear was not the Rejoiner's strategy, but a warning of reality, which has materialised. The UK now faces economic challenges that were predicted. Rejoining the EU would be a step towards stability and shared prosperity.
5. The EU isn't a vindictive institution aiming to punish the UK. Rejoining discussions would focus on mutual benefits and shared objectives. The terms would be the result of negotiation, not imposition.
6. France, or any EU member, has no vested interest in a punitive relationship with the UK. Assertions to the contrary are grounded in baseless speculation, not facts.
7. Tariff-free access is only one facet of the EU's benefits. The notion that the UK is better off outside the single market contradicts the economic realities of Brexit - increased costs, hampered trade, and bureaucratic red tape.
8. Shrinking trade with the EU has resulted in a loss, not a gain, for the UK. Turning to fast-growing economies doesn't negate the benefits of strong ties with immediate neighbours, especially when geopolitical uncertainties loom.
9. The City of London's prosperity stems from its global connectedness, not isolation. The idea that the EU seeks its destruction is misplaced. Brexit is the cause of the current challenges, not the EU's actions.
10. The argument that the UK can't exert influence in the EU is unfounded. Past membership has proved that the UK can, and has, influenced EU decisions. Rejoining would offer a platform to shape policies that affect the UK, regardless.
The notion that the UK has or will benefit from leaving the EU is yet to be backed by concrete evidence. In contrast, the mounting issues post-Brexit suggest that rejoining offers a viable path to recovery and future prosperity.
We'll be back with 10 reasons why the UK has benefitted from being in the EU later this week. 🇪🇺🇬🇧
I didn't write this, but still worth reading.
10 REASONS WHY THE UK WILL NEVER REJOIN THE EU:
1. The EU is “work in progress” towards a centralised European State, according to its treaty-enshrined doctrine of “ever closer Union”. What exactly would the UK be rejoining?
2. Brexit restored accountability for governing the UK to the British Parliament and its lawful electorate. Why would the newly re-enfranchised British public give that control back to Brussels?
3. As the UK becomes accustomed to making better, self-interested decisions concerning its economy, currency, tax, trade, environment, food, fisheries, agriculture, health, medicine, justice, foreign and defence policies, what would be the actual advantages of relinquishing those powers back to the EU?
4. The Rejoiner strategy of using fear of economic collapse to make people support the EU has undoubtedly failed. The EU is now in recession, and the UK is not in recession. What sort of catastrophe - which the EU somehow miraculously avoided - would be likely to trigger a grass-roots campaign to rejoin?
5. Rejoin on what terms? Bearing in mind the “punishment beating” that the UK has taken on the way out of the EU - even its own province of NI, to our shame, is still under EU control - does anyone seriously believe that the EU’s conditions for rejoining would be realistic, let alone acceptable?
6. Unless the terms of entry were so punitive and disadvantageous to Britain - in effect, making the UK a captive market for EU exports, laws and regulations - why would France let us back in?
7. Under the terms of the WA, the UK now has tariff-free access to EU markets (only so that the EU can export twice as much to us). Now that the transition costs have been paid, why would the UK agree to “pay to play” in the internal market to the tune of many billions a year in direct grants to the EU?
8. In recent decades, the EU share of global trade has been shrinking, as has been the percentage of total UK trade that is with the EU. Instead, the UK has self-interestedly charted a path towards the fast-growing economies of the Pacific by joining CPTPP and contributing to regional defence through the AUKUS pact. Why would the UK choose to turn back towards slow-growth EU?
9. The EU is hell-bent on destroying the City of London, which is nearly 10% of the UK economy. The Government is now actively seeking to deregulate the City in “Big Bang 2.” Why would the UK sacrifice its world-class global financial centre to the EU?
10. Having gone through an unsatisfactory 47-year membership of the EU followed by a deeply acrimonious exit, does anyone seriously believe that the UK could rejoin and exert any kind of “influence at the EU top table”, as Remainers always assert?
No, I didn’t think so either. We would be on our knees.
I will be back with “Ten Reasons Why the UK has Benefitted from Leaving the EU” later this week.