Long thread on my apparent double standard:

I saw a reply to a tweet of mine (I now can’t find it) that asked me something like “why, given that you held Corbyn to account relentlessly, do you now seem to have turned into a Tory who is happy to let Boris off the hook?”

It’s a fair enough question & deserves an answer as much as any other question on here (and Twitter is at its best when we can question each other politely and using measured reason, though that rule doesn’t work & so I don’t apply it with racists).

So here goes:

1. I only ever held Corbyn to account for actual events, actions, things he said/did or where there was clear causal connection between him and the actions of others. Antisemitic leader leading to antisemitic culture = antisemitism increasing etc.

2. The tweet about a mad bloke in Tesco - from an Oxford academic "expert" in political spin & disinformation (i kid you not) - which identified Boris as culpable for actions of said mad bloke does not pass any rational test of causation.

3. I’m weary and wary of attacks on anyone on the basis of simple dichotomies of political orientation eg Red = good/Blue = bad
4. I always voted Labour till Corbyn & since then voted tactically against Labour. I’m very unlikely ever to vote Labour again.

5. Point 4 does not mean I am a Tory – or a Lib Dem.
6. If I were a Tory, that would not mean I was a bad person. It would just mean I broadly align myself to a centre-Right political party.

7. In the current crisis I only have 1 desired outcome: that we survive the crisis with as little damage (health, economy, social) as possible.
8. I have no interest in the “party politics” of this crisis.

9. I am unimaginably grateful we do not face this crisis with a Labour govt with Corbyn, McDonnell, Abbott etc at the helm. Anyone who voted Labour or encouraged others to do so just 5 months ago tried to make that nightmare a reality. They should not be allowed to forget that.

10. Do I think the Govt has got or will get everything right? No, of course not. This is complexity and scale that we have not seen before in our lifetimes.
11. Do I think it’s useful for me to point out the failings of the Govt? No, absolutely not. Not yet, anyhow.

12. Do I have any expertise to contribute? Well, limited. Was once a member of the Business Continuity Institute & responsible for emergency planning for a business with 4000 employees. Managed a pandemic plan for that organisation.

But experience that warrants my pearls of wisdom during this global event? Not in a million years. You’ll all do fine (better even) without my input.
13. Do most of the rest of us have anything much valuable to contribute? See the last bit of point 12 above.

14. Do I think Boris should have formed a National Govt and thus ensure that Starmer et al are pissing out of the tent instead of inside it? Yes.
15. Do I think Starmer & the rest will make any real positive impact on any outcomes by constantly undermining the Govt? No.

16. Do I think we stand more chance of getting a better outcome with confidence in the govt higher or lower? Higher – even if it doesn’t always deserve it. Confidence & trust is crucial. Anything that depletes those factors will only serve to increase the risks of increasingly..

...poor outcomes for more people. Sometimes that may well be at the cost of the opportunity for people (including Mr Starmer)to prove that they are the smartest person in the (virtual) room.

17. This is not surrender to a totalitarian autocracy – it’s just my pragmatic view of how best to react & respond to unprecedented times and it won’t last forever.

18. I’m under no illusion that anybody very much will care about any of what I’ve just said and that therefore I will have affected zero change or positive impact.
19. Stay safe and well.
20. Ends.