Truth is Lies

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It takes a special kind of intellectual dishonesty to twist the same basic facts to support two more or less opposing arguments at the same time. Step forward, Boris Johnson. On Sunday, the shortage of permanent UK-based HGV drivers was because the employers weren’t paying enough, and the conditions were poor, especially for women. This morning, it seems that the reason only 127 EU nationals have applied for the same job is nothing to do with the pay or conditions, it is solely because there is a global shortage of drivers (obviously foreigners would otherwise be queuing up to come to the UK for a temporary contract under even worse terms).

He’s not alone, though. He’s managed to surround himself with others equally capable of flexible interpretations of words, collectively, even if not always individually. On Monday, the Foreign Secretary managed to tell us that “other countries have huge trust in Britain and want to work with us”, ignoring the fact that her colleague, Lord Frost, told the same audience that unless the EU produces an ‘acceptable’ alternative to the agreement which he negotiated and signed within ten days, he will be ready to tear up the agreement unilaterally. Truss also managed to talk about building “a network of liberty around the world”; today, another of her colleagues is announcing that having stopped freedom of movement for UK citizens to the rest of Europe, she’s going to impose restrictions on freedom of movement within the UK.

Orwell thought that his fictional doublespeak was a warning; Johnson and his gang seem to see it more as an instruction manual. War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, and Ignorance is Strength, as Orwell put it, to which we could add Trust is Distrust, and Shortage is Plenty. In the novel, when Winston Smith completely accepted the party’s word for everything even he came to love Big Brother. It seems to be working dangerously well in real life as well.