For hundreds, even thousands, of years it has been a common perception that politicians sometimes have to be economical with the truth. It is not unusual that politicians are accused of not keeping their promises after they’ve been elected.
However, since the summer of 2019 representatives of the British Government has been seen to regularly bend the truth, often in a way which in a different era would have called for resignations. Below are some examples:
28 August 2019 – A small privy council gives the Queen misleading advice as to why she must prorogue Parliament for five weeks. On 24 September the Supreme Court ruled the decision unlawful, watch the video.
22 November 2019 – At Question Time, Boris Johnson says he does not want to interfere in with the normal timetable of publishing a report about Russian interference in British democracy. It turns out he was actually the one interfering by delaying publishing of said report.
29 November 2019 – Boris Johnson claims that a £34 billion increase to the NHS is the biggest in living memory, while a fact check easily shows this is not the case.
6 December 2019 – All through the election campaign in November and December 2019 Boris Johnson repeatedly promised that there would be no tariffs and no border checks between Great Britain and Northern Ireland after Brexit. Watch one such occasion from a press conference in Kent. Since Brexit happened on 1 January 2021, we know this is not the case.
8 December 2019 – Boris Johnson predicts a “Brexit baby boom” in an interview in Sunday Times. He goes on to boast that he also “prophesised” a baby boom after the London Olympics in 2012 and claims it happened. The fact is there was a baby boom in 2012, but a fall of 4% in nativity the following year.
17 June 2020 – Boris Johnson denies claims that 600,000 children are living in poverty and states that 400,000 fewer families live in poverty than ten years earlier. The Office for Statistics Regulations later proves this number to be incorrect. Read the Children’s Commissioner’s fact check.
2 December 2020 – Health Secretary Matt Hancock and Leader of the House Jacob Rees-Mogg claim that Brexit made it possible to start the vaccination programme against Covid-19 ahead of other countries in the EU. At the time, the UK was still bound by EU legislation which means that it could have been done with or without Brexit, as stated by the BBC.
Above is listed but a few of the present Government’s alternative facts. There are many much more comprehensive lists online. Do read for instance Boris Johnson’s Lies and The New European for more details.
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