Recent developments in international politics have highlighted the uneasy attitude that politicians are beginning to develop towards information, truth, evidence and expert opinion. In the United Kingdom, where the “Brexit” referendum has now concluded, we not only found members of the “Leave” campaign claiming that the British people “have had enough of experts”, they also made a number of promises – that a post-EU UK would save ￡350M per week that could be spent on the NHS, and that immigration would be reduced in the event of a leave vote – that were speedily dropped after the votes were counted. The “Remain” camp were also guilty, however: in the event of a leave vote they threatened both the immediate triggering of Article 50 and a “punishment budget”, neither of which ultimately transpired.
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