“That is part of living in a democratic country.” A provably false contention has the same value as a statement of verifiable fact under the McCormack position. Then there is that broader matter of government credibility should its MPs be allowed to say whatever they make up under a confected appeal to free speech. McCormack’s creation of contentious facts could be taken as permission to reject those nuisances such as confirmed medical advice and science, allowing campaigns against measures to deal with the pandemic or changes in the climate. It is not an outlook one might expect from an acting prime minister who once was a journalist, a profession ideally dedicated to facts. It might have been a bout of clumsy wording which can strike us all. But McCormack has declined to retract it.