James O'Brien cuts off caller for 'stupid' response to UK floods
13 November 2019, 11:21
James O'Brien cut this caller off after he claimed that the government's reaction to the floods should be to nationalise the water utilities.
With thousands of homes flooded across the north, Jeremy Corbyn suggested that the government's response would have been different if the disaster had happened in Surrey.
But James disagreed, asking what more the government could have done to help those affected.
That's when Peter called up from Liverpool, saying: "The first thing the government could do to help people out of London is to nationalise the utilities."
James told him: "I'm talking about someone whose sitting room is currently armpit-deep in sewage. I'm pretty sure that if you knocked on their door and said 'Don't worry, we're going to nationalise the utilities,' I'm no engineer, but I don't think the flood water would go down.
"I'm asking what the government could do in Belper today. Nationalising the utilities is probably as close to the definition of a stupid answer as it's possible to conceive of."
Peter tried once more to explain, but when he just repeated himself again, James had had enough and cut him off.
Watch the moment at the top of the page.
