THE DARK ART OF DECEIT
Deceit often involves a web of lies and the participation of a number of people. It may also include elements of the truth, which bolster credibility.
Deceit in the Referendum
The Leave campaign which prevailed in the referendum, was riddled with lies about the EU and deceitful promises which proved unfulfillable. There is no need to record them all here since the 2019 general election provided some sort of mandate for Brexit. However it is worth examining here the main Brexit slogan used by Leave which still resonates even today.
“Take Back Control”
The slogan implies that we had lost much if not all of our capacity to govern ourselves. Leave campaigners spoke as if we were governed by a foreign power, or were helpless to prevent losing the independence we still had. Both implications were deceitful.
Whilst within the EU, our government decided the vast majority of issues of concern to British voters , such as taxation, education, policing, housing, planning, pensions, welfare, health, monetary policy, defence, foreign policy, and border security, WITHOUT REFERENCE TO BRUSSELS.
In a limited number of areas, notably agriculture, fisheries and the Single Market (1) EU members, including the UK, agreed via treaties to take decisions collectively. Such areas can only be extended by a new treaty, which has to be adopted unanimously before taking effect.
Deceit in Securing the 2019 Election
In the autumn of 2019 Johnson was unable to secure a majority to call a general election since opponents of ‘No Deal’ with the EU insisted on a guarantee of serious negotiations. The government therefore negotiated a Withdrawal Treaty with the EU, and a Political Declaration including the ‘level playing field (1) as part of a trade deal. The opposition then supported a general election.
Having won the election, Johnson reneged on the Declaration. Clearly, he never intended to negotiate seriously on the level playing field, a key red line for the EU. He had won his victory by deceit over the pro-European parties in the Commons. To him, breaking his word to the EU on a key issue was secondary, even though it damaged trust and good will in the negotiations to come, and jeopardised the chance of a satisfactory outcome.
[An explanation of the Single Market and level playing field is in appendix 1]
Election Malpractices
During the 2019 election, the Conservatives used a specialist firm, Topham Guerin to manage their digital campaign. This firm rebranded the Tory Twitter account as “factcheckUK” for the televised leaders’ debate and used it to publish anti-Labour posts. Apart from one inconspicuous reference, all other branding was changed to make it look like an independent factchecking outlet. The public have increasingly turned to such sites, like Full Fact, to verify claims by politicians. Changing the site’s identity to hide its political origins, and using it to push pro-Tory material, was a flagrant attempt to deceive voters.
Other cases of malpractice included a bogus website presented as Labour’s manifesto, and an interview with Keir Starmer, then Labour’s Brexit spokesman, edited to make him seem unable to answer questions about the party’s policy on Brexit.
Topham Guerin were not at all abashed by criticism of their tactics, declaring that the success in spreading the Tory message was well worth the controversy it aroused.
The Australia “Deal”
Originally, the government had aimed for a trade agreement like the EU's agreement with Canada. But after the election Johnson and his ministers began to speak of an Australia deal if a Canada-type deal was unavailable. This was a deliberate attempt to deceive the public. The EU ’s agreement with Australia, is merely a talking shop. Unlike the EU/Canada agreement, it does not grant ANY trading advantages. Johnson clearly hoped to avert domestic criticism when negotiations were near breakdown, by alluding to this non-existent fallback.