To realise the enormity and unconservative nature of what Johnson did yesterday and its far reaching implications for our society, politics and culture let's compare it to Tony Blair and Iraq. A thread.

1. The twin premises of the " dodgy dossier " were that there needed to be a casus belli for Iraq and that there needed to be evidence for that casus belli. " Sexing up " that evidence was dishonest but accepted the normativity of facts and law.

2. Yesterday's speech by Johnson was intrinsically post-modern or if you prefer Trumpian. No actual conservative would have made it. That's been our trajectory since 2016 but it is still shocking to see it by a PM acting as PM speaking in No 10. It used norms to blow up norms.

3. Yesterday the head of government said the law, science ( epidemology ) and the common good were all trumped by individual " instinct ". He then said the biggest public infomation campaign in peacetime history didn't say what we all know it said.

4. Johnson's speech wasn't even Randian. The " instinct " defence is incredibly radical leftism. It deconstracts law as fully as urban activists arguing deprivation and structural oppression justifies mugging or vandalism.

5. But this is a virus with an unchecked highly exponential growth. The fatherless black youth mugger in south London wounds one person. What does the graph of Cumming's infection chain clock up ?

6. The Johnson massacres the " little platoons ". The lockdown has been a social contract as well as law. Much of it has been guidance based and constructed via the bully pulpit of government, monarchy, business, civil society and individual example. Johnson gaslighted the lot.

7. An old Old Testament lecturer once told me " You can deconstruct a red light but you'll still probably crash if you drive through it. " A virus which doesn't care is an even tougher target for Johnson's strategy.

8. In conclusion regular readers will know I think the UK is under going late decadence and civilisational decline. But even I'm quite shocked a PM would launch a post-modern response to a virus. We are on the road to hell.