#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

A thread of #ProjectFear warnings and their outcome, taking the end of the transition period on 31 December as Brexit unless otherwise stated

/1
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: Chaos at the Channel, Kent one big car park, cross channel trade seized up

Outcome: Channel trade continues as usual

/2
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: recession on voting to leave, recession on triggering Art 50, recession on political Brexit, recession on end of transition period

Outcome: no Brexit recession, although there was a lockdown recession and there may be a second lockdown recession
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: empty shelves in supermarkets and shops

Outcome: full shelves in supermarkets and shops, despite a brief shortage of lettuce

/4
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: Shortages of medicines

Outcome: No shortages of medicines

/5
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: shortage of water purification chemicals

Outcome: no shortage of water purification chemicals

/6
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: half a million more unemployed as a result of voting to Leave, triggering Art 50, political Brexit and end of the transitional period

Outcome: unemployment fell from referendum to pandemic and remains half EU rate and credit crunch rate

/7
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: no flights between UK and EU

Outcome: flights continue between UK and EU

/8
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: Punishment budget

Outcome: Overall tax take has stayed roughly constant since referendum, while personal taxes have fallen for most as tax free allowance and 42% threshold has risen

/9
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: Roaming charges will be reinstated

Outcome: Market forces and competition ensure no roaming charges

/10
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: SF/IRA will restart their terror campaign

Outcome: SF/IRA remain at peace, preferring to pocketing salaries and expenses from the British taxpayer

/11
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: House prices will fall

Outcome: House prices continued to rise, even during the pandemic

/12
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: EU nationals will leave the UK

Outcome: the number of EU nationals living and working in the UK rose to record numbers to record numbers to record numbers

/13
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: NHS would run out of doctors and nurses

Outcome: Record numbers of NHS doctors and nurses

/14
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: the NHS would never get an extra £350m a week

Outcome: NHS has been given over £1bn extra a week

/15
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: The UK wouldn’t sign any trade deals

Outcome: Liz Truss signed 64 trade deals covering more countries than the EU has trade deals with, and more deals are on the way including membership of the worlds largest trading bloc, CP-TPP

/16
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: Britain would run out of avocados. Avocados which come from Mexico and the tropics, not the EU.

Outcome: No shortage of avocados.

/17
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: Britain would run out of the raw materials to make chocolate. Chocolate, made from sugar and milk produced in the UK and cocoa beans which come from the tropics not the EU.

Outcome: No shortage of chocolate ingredients.

/18
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: the UK would not have trade access to the EU internal (single) market without agreeing to dynamic alignment with EU rules.

Outcome: Trade access without dynamic alignment.

/19
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: the UK would not get tariff and quota free trade access to the EU internal (single) market.

Outcome: UK has tariff and quota free trade access.

/20
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: the UK would see the emergence of “super” sexually transmitted diseases.

Outcome: No “super” sexually transmitted diseases.

/21
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: EU27 banks and financial services firms would leave the City along with 100,000s of jobs.

Outcome: EU27 banks expanded in London, EU27 financial services firms rushed to open UK subsidiaries, creating many more jobs in City than relocated.

/22
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: UK nationals living in EU would be forced to return to UK.

Outcome: Rights of UK nationals living in EU retained and protected.

/23
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: Gibraltar-Spain border would be closed.

Outcome: Gibraltar-Spain border remains open with special free movement deal.

/24
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: UK nationals wouldn’t be able to work in EU27.

Outcome: UK nationals can work in EU27 provided that they comply with same rules as any other non-EU national, just as 3.5m UK nationals do across RoW.

/25
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: UK nationals would need a visa for every trip to the EU.

Outcome: Visa free travel for now with a three year all Schengen ESTA style €6 visa to be introduced in a year or so.

/26
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: UK too small to get trade deals as good as EU has.

Outcome: all of the 63 non-EU trade deals UK has signed are at least as good as the EU deals, several notably better and most include commitments to future improvements.

/27
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: trade deals take years to negotiate.

Outcome: usually the EU takes years to negotiate trade deals, but with the UK driving the pace it took a mere 11 months to secure the CTA. Meanwhile the UK-Japan trade deal took 11 weeks.

/28
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: trade deals can’t include anything meaningful on financial services or anything like passporting.

Outcome: UK and Switzerland negotiating a financial services trade deal to deliver the upsides of passporting without the corrupt superstate.

/29
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: the stock market will collapse

Outcome: in the first trading week of 2021, FTSE100 rose 5.8%

/30
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: outside the EU, the UK will be a ruletaker in financial services

Outcome: outside the EU, the UK is reforming and improving its financial services regulations while the EU is trying to catch up with UK initiatives on PRIIPs and fund costs.

/31
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: the UK would not be able to get hold of medical grade radio isotopes

Outcome: no shortage of medical grade radio isotopes

/32
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: UK diabetics would die from lack of insulin (one of the most disgraceful #ProjectFear lies ever)

Outcome: no shortage of insulin

/33
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: UK students won't be able to study in the EU

Outcome: UK students able to study in the EU, while new Turing scheme allows UK students of limited means to study globally instead of Erasmus scheme which allowed wealthy students to study in EU.

/34
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: UK economy will grow by 28.4% in 15 years instead of 30% if it remained in the EU.

Outcome: An unproveable counterfactual based on dodgy HMT assumptions granted, but what we do know is that UK economy has outperformed EU27 and EZ since 2016.

/35
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: You won't be able to take your pet on holiday to EU.

Outcome: You need a rabies certificate to take your pet on holiday to the EU (where, islands apart, they have rabies, whereas we don't).

/36
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: You won't be able to drive in the EU.

Outcome: You will be able to drive in the EU with a single extra piece of paper.

/37
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: You won't be able to go to your EU holiday home (who says Remoaners are out of touch metropolitans?).

Outcome: You will be able to go to your EU holiday home, but if you are wealthy enough to have 90+ day holidays you will need a visa.

/38
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: UK animal welfare standards will fall.

Outcome: UK has banned or will ban: barbaric live export; transshipment of whalemeat; fur imports; foie gras imports; imports of farmed puppies.

/39
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: UK will no longer be attractive for foreign direct invetsment (FDI)

Outcome: UK has remained #1 destination for FDI in Europe (as opposed to the EU) since the referendum.

/40
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: UK universities will face a brain drain.

Outcome: UK universities are best in Europe (not just EU) and amongst best in the world. New UK immigration rules ensure the best academics in the world can work here.

/41
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: Scotland will leave the UK.

Outcome: Scotland remains in the UK. Leaving the EU doesn't shorten the length of a generation and the next poll will not be until 2049, if at all.

/42
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: Musicians won’t be able to tour the EU.

Outcome: Musicians able to tour the EU just as they are able to tour the rest of the world.

/43
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: France will cancel the Le Touquet Treaty governing cross Channel movements UK-France.

Outcome: Le Touquet Treaty not cancelled.

/44
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: Aircraft with UK certified parts will not be able to fly in the EU.

Outcome: EU recognises UK aircraft parts certification and aircraft with them can fly in EU.

/45
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: Japanese car manufacturers would leave the UK.

Outcome: Japanese car manufacturers have increased their investment in UK to build new models.

/46
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: International companies like Unilever would leave the UK.

Outcome: Unilever restructured to have its sole HQ and sole stock exchange listing in the UK.

/47
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: there would be civil unrest.

Outcome: no Brexit related civil unrest, but there was unrelated civil unrest due to Marxist race hate group BLM rioting and extremist anti free speech climate groups shutting down our free press.

/48
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: there will be a shortage of animal semen.

Outcome: no shortage of animal semen.

/49
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: UK will be at the back of the queue for a US trade deal.

Outcome: UK in negotiations for a US trade deal, however the UK moves slow on trade, albeit not as slowly as the EU.

/50
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: David Cameron suggesting WW3 would be more likely to break out.

Outcome: No WW3.

/51
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: shortage of Easter eggs the Easter after political Brexit in January 2020.

Outcome: usual surfeit of Easter eggs in the shops Easter 2020.

/52
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: UK residents will be forced to eat chlorinated chicken.

Outcome: UK food standards remain higher than EU standards, although in a hangover from EU, UK residents are forced to eat chlorinated salad and drink chlorinated water unharmed.

/53
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: UK would start releasing raw sewage into the sea.

Outcome: UK continues to treat sewage onshore.

/54
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: the EU would shut down the electricity interconnector cables from France, Belgium and Netherlands to the UK, causing blackouts.

Outcome: interconnectors operating normally.

/55
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: interest rates will rise.

Outcome: BoE base rate 0.1% while MPC debates whether to introduce negative interest rates and at times the markets are prepared to pay for the privilege of lending to the UK.

/56
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: the value of the pound will collapse.

Outcome: GBP-EUR stable at 1:1.1-1.2 since referendum. GBP-USD slightly more volatile at 1:1.2-1.4 since referendum.

/57
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: UK employment protections will fall.

Outcome: UK employment protections long pre date and far exceed EU standards and continue to do so. The Holidays with Pay Act 1935 predates the attempt before the EU to create a German led united Europe.

/58
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: due to labour shortages the era of the £1 bunch of daffodils in supermarkets will come to an end.

Outcome: Today in upmarket Waitrose they were selling £1 bunches of daffodils.

/59
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: Nissan will leave the UK.

Outcome: Nissan announces that Brexit is beneficial to its presence in the UK and commits to manufacturing batteries for electric vehicles in Sunderland.

/60
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: there will be a hard border in Ireland.

Outcome: on trying to impose a hard border the EU faced such a backlash from all sides that it had to climb down and pretend that a minor official had imposed the hard border by mistake.

/61
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: leaving the EMA will endanger lives in the UK.

Outcome: leaving the EMA has saved thousands of lives in the UK.

/62
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: nation states are incapable of holding their own in a world dominated by large blocks.

Outcome: nation states, even large ones like the US and China are more nimble and effective in a crisis while the EU flounders and kills thousands.

/63
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: outside the EU the UK would be forced to do deals with unsavoury regimes for trade.

Outcome: UK restricts trade with genocidal regimes, while the EU signs a trade deal with genocidal China declaring it not their place to criticise genocides.

/64
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: the UK was leaving the worlds largest free trade block.

Outcome: the UK left a protectionist customs union but is now joining the world's actual largest free trade block, the CP-TPP, based on the global gold standard of mutual recognition.

/65
#ProjectFear
#RemainerLies

Lie: on Brexit Remainers will start riots so violent the Queen has to be evacuated from Buckingham Palace.

Outcome: despite the extreme rhetoric of hard Remainers, Brexit passes off peacefully as expected.

/66
You can follow @ThomasPilchard.
Tip: mention @twtextapp on a Twitter thread with the keyword “unroll” to get a link to it.

Latest Threads Unrolled:

By continuing to use the site, you are consenting to the use of cookies as explained in our Cookie Policy to improve your experience.