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Post-Truth Britain

We really are through the looking glass now. Chancellor Phillip Hammond has been warned by his cabinet colleagues not to endorse the dire economic forecasts of his own treasury department that show the British economy crashing next year because they will cause people to 'panic'. According to Liam Fox "We need common sense, not hyperbole and panic. There's no reason to panic."

So Mr Fox seems to be pursuing a bury your head in the sand strategy. The accuracy of the forecasts is not what seems to matter, its just that believing in them is the problem. This is what is called post-truth politics. Facts used to be treasured things but today they are viewed with suspicion. Experts are viewed with even more suspicion or as Michael Gove said, "The British People have had enough of experts", especially if they are armed with facts.

The recent attacks on Mark Carney by many within the conservative government along with the above head burying show that criticism of BREXIT, or even simple statements of the abundantly clear regarding its effects are now almost a thought crime. What is being observed is not criticised, just the acknowledgment of that reality.

What is clear is that today we have a reliance on assertions that 'feel true', that are comforting to our world view. However, feelings are not facts. It does not matter if you think it is the Sun and not the moon that causes tides nor does it matter if you think that Britain is booming. The reality is that the UK is suffering economically as a result of BREXIT and no amount of fact fighting or head burying can change this.




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