Ritchie is very taken with the following quote from Simon Jenkins in the Guardian:

Tories have always liked facts – dates, places, weights and measures — because they brook no argument from sceptics and leftwingers . They are “academic”, intellectual authority on stilts. But history's facts are deliciously dangerous. Set them going and they race to conclusions. That is why a history lesson for ministers might be a lesson of advantage to us all.

Unfortunately, he seems to have misunderstood the message. Jenkins is saying that facts are important, so it's vital that Tories (and, for that matter, Labour) learn their real lessons instead of drawing glib, inappropriate conclusions.

Compare this to Ritchie's MO, where he treats facts as a very unwelcome inconvenience. Instead of engaging with critics of his arguments, he ignores them. Hence, he continues to parrot his nonsense estimates for tax avoidance in the UK, even while they have been comprehensively discredited.

He would do well to remember the words of his economics hero, John Maynard Keynes:

When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?

Written on my Android mobile phone. Article may be edited later.

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Filed under: Current issues, Other blogs with tags facts, guardian, idiots, john maynard keynes, richard murphy, simon jenkins, truth