Can you help us ask Suella Braverman to correct the record?
16 Jun 2023 | Full Fact's weekly news
View in your browser ([link removed])
TAKE ACTION
Home Secretary's asylum claim: an update
Last week, we wrote to you about Suella Braverman’s misleading claim ([link removed]) that “the asylum initial decision backlog is down by 17,000”.
It’s been over a week since we asked the Home Secretary to correct the record.
On Monday, we asked supporters of our campaign for honesty in politics to write to the Home Secretary and ask that she correct the record, in keeping with the Ministerial Code. So far, more than 1,500 people have written to the Home Secretary, but she has not responded.
On the same day, Shadow Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, also asked Suella Braverman to correct the record on this claim, highlighting “the importance of the ministerial code and correcting any errors at the first opportunity”. Ms Braverman did not take this opportunity to correct the record.
Government ministers owe the public accurate and responsible information when talking about important issues.
Add your voice to make sure the Home Secretary hears our calls.
Ask Suella Braverman to correct the record ([link removed])
FACT CHECK
** Boris Johnson did not win the largest Conservative majority in 44 years ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
Conservative peer Lord Cruddas, president of the Conservative Democratic Organisation, made incorrect claims on Twitter relating to the former Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s election record. After being contacted by Full Fact, he agreed the tweet was not correct and has now tweeted a correction.
The original post, published on 11 June 2023, said: “Fact, @borisjohnson has never lost a campaign or election. 2019 General Election biggest majority in over 44 years. 2016 Brexit referendum and two London mayoral elections. He is a winning machine who can connect to voters. Hasta La vista !”
This is incorrect.
Mr Johnson first stood for parliament in 1997, for the Clwyd South seat in North Wales. He lost to Labour’s Martyn Jones, having received just over 9,000 votes compared to nearly 23,000 for Mr Jones.
It is true that Mr Johnson won two London mayoral elections, and helped lead the successful ‘Leave’ campaign during the 2016 Brexit referendum.
But while Boris Johnson led the Conservatives to victory in the 2019 general election with an 80 seat majority, Margaret Thatcher had achieved an even larger majority of 144 following the 1983 general election, 40 years ago.
In addition, Labour’s majority after the 1997 election was significantly larger at 179 seats and, although this fell to 167 seats after the 2001 election, this was still more than double the majority achieved by Mr Johnson.
If a member of the House of Lords makes a false or misleading claim on social media, they should correct this quickly on the same platform where the claim was made. We are grateful that Lord Cruddas has done so in this case.
Find out more ([link removed])
SUPPORTER ACTION
** Privileges Committee investigation alone won't rebuild public trust ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
During his time at No.10, Boris Johnson repeatedly made false and misleading claims, paving the way for other MPs to do the same. The Privileges Committee noted in their report on Thursday that their inquiry “goes to the very heart of our democracy. Misleading the House is not a technical issue, but a matter of great importance.”
But so far this year, only 5 out of the 29 MPs Full Fact has asked to correct themselves have actually done so.
Current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, and Labour and Liberal Democrat leaders Keir Starmer and Ed Davey are among those MPs who have yet to correct false or misleading claims after we have asked them.
Add your voice to our calls for honesty in politics.
Sign our petition ([link removed])
FACT CHECK
** Labour MP makes incorrect claim about recall petitions ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
During an interview on Sky News on Monday 12 June, following former Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s resignation as an MP, Labour MP and shadow secretary of state for business and industrial strategy Jonathan Reynolds said that a recall petition succeeds if “ten thousand constituents vote for it”.
This isn’t correct, and Mr Reynolds’ office has since told Full Fact that he misspoke. In order to succeed, a recall petition requires the signatures of 10% of the eligible registered electorate in an MP’s constituency.
A recall petition is a mechanism by which an MP can be forced by voters to vacate their seat, triggering a by-election (which the recalled MP is then allowed to contest).
Inaccurate claims about political processes such as recall petitions have the potential to affect people’s trust in these processes, and could impact how or if they choose to participate. While Mr Reynolds has acknowledged the error, we are not aware of any public correction having been made at the time of writing. He has not responded to our request for a correction regarding this claim.
How does a recall petition work? ([link removed])
FACT CHECK
** The overall NHS waiting list continues to rise ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
The Prime Minister recently claimed in a tweet shared by several other ministers that the government is cutting waiting lists in the NHS. This is a general claim that the Conservative party has made before, and it has also appeared as a logo on other official government announcements.
While it's true some specific NHS waiting lists, such as the list of patients waiting more than 18 months for treatment, have fallen, the overall number of cases where someone is waiting for consultant-led elective treatment in England is at a record high.
Full Fact is campaigning for politicians to be clear on what they mean when making claims using official data to describe public services. Otherwise they risk misleading people about the government’s performance—or, in this case, access to the NHS.
What does the data tell us? ([link removed])
WE'RE HIRING
** Social Media Manager ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
Help us reach millions of people with good, reliable information. We’re looking for an expert in social media to help us tackle the spread of misleading claims and engage and grow our supporter base.
This is a full time, remote first role, with an office available in Central London and regular team meetings in the office. We are happy to talk about flexible working, including part time.
£36,700-41,700 per annum (plus pension)
Last weekend to apply! Full details on the role and how to apply ([link removed])
MORE FACT CHECKS
Also this week...
* England has fewer teachers relative to the number of school pupils than in 2010 ([link removed])
* Labour has received around £1.5 million from a Just Stop Oil donor, not the protest group itself ([link removed])
* Claims that Japan does not accept any refugees are false ([link removed])
Read our latest fact checks ([link removed])
Stop the spread of bad information
Find these updates useful? We'd be incredibly grateful if you could share our fact checks and help more people access good information.
[link removed] Share ([link removed])
[link removed] https%3A%2F%2Ffullfact.org%2Fnews%2Flord-cruddas-boris-johnson%2F Tweet ([link removed] https%3A%2F%2Ffullfact.org%2Fnews%2Flord-cruddas-boris-johnson%2F)
[link removed] Forward ([link removed])
[link removed] Share ([link removed])
All the best,
Team Full Fact
============================================================
** Follow us ([link removed])
** Donate ([link removed])
** Like us ([link removed])
** Follow us ([link removed])
Have any questions or feedback? Please ** get in touch via our contact form ([link removed])
. We do not respond to direct replies to this email address.
Find out ** how Full Fact is funded ([link removed])
.
Copyright © Full Fact 2023 - All rights reserved
A registered charity (no. 1158683) and a non-profit company (no. 6975984) limited by guarantee and registered in England and Wales.
Our mailing address is:
17 Oval Way, London, SE11 5RR
We use Mailchimp to send you our emails and to see which articles are most popular. ** Read our privacy policy ([link removed])
or ** Mailchimp's privacy policy ([link removed])
** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])
** update subscription preferences ([link removed])
