It’s not really about Brexit, it’s about honesty in politics.
I think this is a little naive. There are many examples of politicians lying—picking just one is a clear example of political bias. If they want this to be about honesty, they should simultaneously prosecute a leader Conservative and Labour politician, or Leave and Remain- even if they think the suit against Boris is the most likely to succeed. I think the fact that they’re called ‘Brexit Justice’ makes their motivations pretty unambiguous.
But even with an idealised case that was non-partisan, the issue at stake isn’t truth vs lies but who gets to determine what is acceptable to say. If they win, they will establish a precedent that it is illegal for opponents of the government to say things that the state holds to be lies. Even if the current government only used this for good purposes, there is no guarantee that a future one would. History is full of examples of governments suppressing ‘lies’ that turned out to be the truth.
It’s odd to call Boris an opponent of the government. He’s a sitting MP—he’s part of the state. To me this seems to be more about the courts being able to hold Parliament accountable.
I think this is a little naive. There are many examples of politicians lying—picking just one is a clear example of political bias. If they want this to be about honesty, they should simultaneously prosecute a leader Conservative and Labour politician, or Leave and Remain- even if they think the suit against Boris is the most likely to succeed. I think the fact that they’re called ‘Brexit Justice’ makes their motivations pretty unambiguous.
But even with an idealised case that was non-partisan, the issue at stake isn’t truth vs lies but who gets to determine what is acceptable to say. If they win, they will establish a precedent that it is illegal for opponents of the government to say things that the state holds to be lies. Even if the current government only used this for good purposes, there is no guarantee that a future one would. History is full of examples of governments suppressing ‘lies’ that turned out to be the truth.
It’s odd to call Boris an opponent of the government. He’s a sitting MP—he’s part of the state. To me this seems to be more about the courts being able to hold Parliament accountable.