Brexit formally occurred on Jan 31. People had voted for it to have borders with integrity, even if there was an economic cost. The Con Govt immediately had an opportunity to put this into practice: it actually made sense to tightly regulate our borders, with #coronavirusUK. 1/

So what happened after Jan 31? The Cons moved immediately in the OPPOSITE direction. They refused adamantly to impose any border controls, and let flight after flight after flight in, carrying #coronavirus into the UK. Johnson gave this speech on Feb 3: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/pm-speech-in-greenwich-3-february-2020

The speech is astounding, the way it’s been ignored by the MSM v. revealing. In it, the PM insists the UK will remain open for business during the coming pandemic, no matter what the cost.
I repeat my key pt: this was the opposite of what one might expect from a Brexit Govt. 3/

#BrexitIsALie. The British people were sold a pup. The irony couldn’t be more extreme: a project sold to voters as a way of taking back control of borders is in fact a project of dismantling borders and any other protections standing in the way of the rich making a quick buck. 4/

Watch the key moment in the speech here... https://twitter.com/stefsimanowitz/status/1251462932975714304?s=21
...the PM is previewing the infamous ‘herd immunity’ policy here. He’s saying: we will remain porous to disease, no matter what the human, cost rather than instigate a protective economic contraction. 5/ https://twitter.com/stefsimanowitz/status/1251462932975714304

Those focussing on idiocies such as the failure to join the EU ventilator scheme are missing the bigger story: many of those who voted for Brexit (ie especially the old) were sold out by this Govt. The one time it actually made sense to close our borders, they would not do it. 6/

The Cons would not protect us, because all they were interested in was securing some short term economic advantage. No matter what the human cost. All thru Feb and March, we begged them: quarantine, stop the incoming flights of death, contact trace, protect: No.
7/

Of course, thankfully, popular resistance put a stop to the herd immunity (aka mass-manslaughter) plan. The British people started physical-distancing spontaneously, we started cancelling events ourselves - and pressuring Govt to change course. 9/

https://twitter.com/greenrupertread/status/1254366083945021442?s=21 https://twitter.com/greenrupertread/status/1254366083945021442

But not before about 45000 of us,so far,are dead. (That’s the real figure,not the massaged hospitalonly figure,which makes the death toll look far lower than it is).
Most of them Brexit voters. The Govt surrendered control. Johnson is Chamberlain, not Churchill.
#BrexitIsALie 10/

Once again, why? Because of a refusal to be precautionary in the face of this unknown #coronavirus. A refusal to actually listen to the science. A determination to listen to useless ‘behavioural science’. And a stupid extreme economic ideology: 11/ https://twitter.com/greenrupertread/status/1254365544125468673?s=21 https://twitter.com/greenrupertread/status/1254365544125468673

Of course, their extreme economistic ideology also proved laughably self defeating. Our economy has had to take a way bigger hit from #Covid_19 than New Zealand’s, or Taiwan’s, or even Greece’s. Because of the chaos resulting from our completely botched policy here in the UK. 12/

But my central point here has been about intent, not outcomes. The Govt intended to prioritise the economy over lives. To prioritise being ‘open for business’ over protecting its vulnerable. To surrender control to a virus. To leave our borders open, for the sake of money. 13/

Even when it should have been obvious, to the staunchest Remainer or libertarian alike, that it was time to move protectively to temporarily restrict travel.
Yes, #BrexitIsALie. They fell very far, very hard, at the very first hurdle.
Johnson=Chamberlain.
13/

The questions that remain include:
Will the British people wake up more to see all this?
Will the Govt finally move to start protecting our ports and airports, or are we going to continue to surrender control to the virus even after we emerge from the lockdown? 14/

This unprecedented #Covid19UK crisis, our Government’s abject failure to protect us, it’s complete unwillingness to take back any control until it was too late to prevent several tens of thousands of unnecessary deaths, can be traced back to its obsession with growth. 14/

A completely self-defeating obsession, but an obsession all the same.
Watch out. Be alert. There are those in the Govt who still harbour this obsession above anything else. Johnson may have been changed by his brush with death; possibly he’s ready to be Churchillian even.. 15/

But there are very powerful figures in this Govt who want nothing more than to be shot of the lockdown, to continue to keep our borders open no matter what the human cost, and to get back to making money.
#BrexitIsALie. They’d no interest in us taking back control. 15/

Like Trump, they want to make the rich richer, and they value cash over lives. Even those of their own voters.
#Covid_19
Watch out. This is a very dangerous moment, fellow Britons.
...We should be New Zealand, instead.
#CrushTheCurve.
/Thread ends.

Ps Well just fancy that:
#coronavirusUK
#precautionaryprinciple