The Australian government has announced a new deal for the construction of nine Hunter class frigates, but the Tory spin on this story is doubly-misleading and absolutely ridiculous.
The Tories are attempting to present the story as if the contract represents some kind of £20 billion boost for the British economy, but in reality the vast majority of the £20 billion will be spent in Australia, creating Australian jobs, and stimulating demand in the Australian economy.
The only significant benefit to Britain will come indirectly through profits made by the British-based arms company BAE Systems. The biggest single investor in BAE is an American investment company Capital Management. And one of Capital Management's most notable employees is Theresa May's husband!
It's not like we're building the ships and sending them over there, and it's not even like the profit margin will actually make its way back to Britain either, it'll be divvied up amongst the mega-rich multinational investment class.
To put this Tory spin into perspective, just consider how the Australian government have been presenting this deal to their own people (see picture). The overwhelming majority of the investment is staying within Australia, it's going to create thousands of Australian jobs, and it's going to stimulate the Australian economy.
Also consider what BAE themselves have said about the deal making a "significant contribution to the Australian economy" and "creating thousands of jobs, supporting new industries and boosting the national supply chain for decades to come".
Even worse than their misleading presentation as if this contract is somehow a £20 billion boost for Britain, is the way the Tories have misleadingly presented this deal between the Australian government and a multinational arms company as some kind of justification for their Brexit farce.
In reality the Tories know that Brexit is going to be an economic disaster. That's why Michael Ashcroft has been praising Malta as a business base during Brexit. It's why John Redwood keeps telling the public that Brexit will be wonderful whilst telling private investment funds to get their cash out of Britain during the Brexit process. It's why Nigel Lawson is seeking French residency. It's why Jacob Rees-Mogg has opened up a new branch of his investment fund in Ireland.
The behaviour of these leading Brexiteers makes it obvious what's going on.
It's engineered disaster capitalism.
The Brexiteers have engineered the economic disaster that is Brexit and Tory Brextremists like Jacob Rees-Mogg are striving to ensure the disaster as destructive as possible with their constant "no deal" posturing. Meanwhile them and their mates are shifting as much cash as possible out of the UK before the economic implosion, so as to flood back in again like vultures once the Brexit recession hits to pick over the bones and gobble up £billions worth of distressed British assets on the cheap.
The Tories are not only misleadingly dressing up a financial benefit for them and their mega-rich investment class mates as some kind of £20 billion boost for Britain, they're using this deception in order to propagandise for the disastrous hard-right "no deal" Brexit they're plotting, which will also end up benefiting them and their mega-rich chums, but this time at a massive cost to the British public, British workers, and the British economy.
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