Caller Tells James O'Brien Why He Thinks UK Is 'Throwing Ireland Under The Bus'
1 October 2019, 15:23
A first time caller told James O'Brien that Boris Johnson's new approach to the Irish border is throwing "a good neighbour under the bus" and makes total sense to him.
Robert, from Kilkenny, told James O'Brien: "I just think it's a real shame. I think whatever strength in the relationship between Ireland and the UK has built over the last 20 years is slowly being dismantled."
He added: "We just don't think there is any frictionless trade going to be possible."
Robert said: "How is it so bad that you're willing to throw a neighbour, a good neighbour like Ireland, a trading partner, under the bus?"
James said: "The idea that frictionless trade has gone from being a massive buzzword of Brexiters to being something they now quietly acknowledge was always going to be impossible without losing the support of presumably decent people with functioning brains."
He then asked Robert why he thinks this has happened.
Robert explained: "I was born in the UK, I was born of polish parents who were refugees after the war and ended up in Britain immediately after."
He explained how, in Britain, he struggled because he wasn't English. People "always pointed out" that he wasn't "proper English."
When he moved to Ireland, however, he said he "got complete acceptance."
He went on: "I still think in Britain there is this sense of superiority and the empire and everything that goes with that,
we're going to do whatever we like."
