I TOLD YOU SO?

 



I posted this meme, and below is my response to some of the 100+ comments

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Having opened this discussion let me make a few comments.

I wrote just a few words to start with because the choice is as ever between writing 20 words which result in 800 responses – which feels as if it’s had some impact – or writing 800 words that may get 20 responses - which may have impact in a different way
It’s worth considering what we really want to happen. If our main motivation is to make ourselves feel better in the moment, then “I told you so” may work But what if we have other objectives …..?
Here are my thoughts on some of the responses. You don’t have to agree, but some of the comments invite a response.
👉“Why should we be nice to them?” – being nice to them is not my rationale, I’m trying to gain their support which is a different objective
👉“I’m entitled to say ‘I told you so’ “? – that’s fine, I was commenting on what is effective, not what you’re entitled to do or not. I’m not saying that I never say it!
👉“I’ll change what I say when they change what they say” – again, you’re entitled to take this approach. If everyone says this then that is the recipe for No Change
👉“But we’re right” – that’s fine, but is it the point?
👉👉“How can you prove this?” This is a fair challenge. My evidence is anecdotal. But my experience includes a time when to be successful at my job I needed to persuade people that their organisation had made a big mistake a few years ago and that they should now spend a lot of money to put that right. I was very successful. What I quickly discovered was that it didn’t work to say “You made a big mistake a few years ago”. What absolutely resonated and got better results was something along these lines “A decision was made a few years ago based on the information that you had at the time; new information is available now and it is possible to consider ways forward from here in the light of today’s information”. Now, was it the case that the people I was talking to had been idiots four years earlier? Maybe they had been, maybe they hadn’t. But it didn’t help my objective to say that to them. I wanted to appeal to them to use their reasoning, so if I suggested that they weren’t good at using their reasoning it weakened my case.
My anecdotal evidence also includes more recent experiences. I can tweet as much as I like about the fact that I had letters in the newspaper and sent to Government to which Government responded, about the time they had allowed for the Deal and the NI protocol, and objectively I was correct and Government was wrong, but in general people are not that interested.
💙I am NOT arguing against Rejoining the EU. It is the sanest thing we can do, when there is support. Maybe Single Market and Customs Union first , But MPs of many Parties are saying “Accept what has happened and Move On” . We certainly need to deal with the challenges of 2021, not attempt to replay the 2016 referendum. What has more impact now is, sadly, not the lies that were told – though we can still seek to make the Leaders accountable; what matters most is that any “mandate” has now no more force, because Johnson declared “Got Brexit Done”, and so what happens next is not in any way instructed by that vote .
👉What can we do? This will vary but there are some good suggestions - organised by 
Peter Cook
) here I think (I wrote some of them) ,✍
👢 My personal view is that “JOHNSON OUT” is an absolutely necessary first step. More is needed, but this is step 1. Personably I don’t think the successor will be strongly in Johnson’s image; the back-benchers are restive and a man like Johnson who will ignore half of them will struggle to command wide support mid-term. MPs want to retain their seats (that’s why they voted him in) and they want to be promoted (which half have no chance of). I think he will resign by April 2021 or face a leadership challenge in the next two years, probably this year. Tories don't elect "tried and failed before" generally but prefer "untainted and not well known" 🙄(and usually young, Theresa May was an exception in exceptional circumstances)
We can help to make that Johnson go – see the suggestions,
🏈The positive mood in USA after getting rid of their Deceiver may help.

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