James O'Brien Explains Why Graham Brady's Brexit Amendment Is Pointless
28 January 2019, 16:28
James O'Brien breaks down why Graham Brady's proposed amendment to Theresa May's Brexit deal is counter-intuitive.
Sir Graham Brady described the "heart" of his amendment was to remove the Irish backstop from the Prime Minister's Brexit agreement by putting in place "alternate arrangements".
The Chairman of the influential 1922 Committee has been critical of the backstop over fears the UK could be "trapped in it for good".
But James O'Brien thought the Tory MP's amendment was pointless, and is counter-intuitive to the need for a backstop in the first place.
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James explained: "The claim all along has been that it's really easy to fix, with digital technology for example.
"The same people who keep telling us it's really easy to fix are the people who are adamant that we can't leave things as they are until it's fixed.
"So what's the problem with having a backstop in place that says until you've come up with a solution to the problem, if it's really easy to solve, what's wrong with leaving things as they are until a solution has been presented?
"The same people that say it's really easy to fix are the people that are objecting to current arrangements remaining in place until it's fixed.
"That's counter-intuitive, because the minute you show us how, the backstop ceases to be needed."
