James O'Brien Goes Through Brexiters' Plans One-By-One
7 February 2019, 15:09
After Donald Tusk criticised the people who promoted Brexit without any plans, James O'Brien looked through the plans the Leave leaders gave - and took them down one-by-one.
Brexiters were furious with the comments from the President of the European Commission. But James says you shouldn't be angry with someone who was just holding up a mirror.
He started with Jacob Rees-Mogg, who told Parliament: "You could have two referendums. And as it happens, it may make more sense to have a 2nd referendum after the renegotiation is completed."
Then he moved on to Nigel Farage, when he said: "If Norway, Iceland and Switzerland can get deals that suit them, we can do something far, far better than that."
James pointed out: "Norway and Switzerland of course both having free movement of people. So maybe you voted for that, but now you're adamant that you didn't because you knew you couldn't trust him but you definitely still want to leave."
What about David Davis: "She'll have a mandate... to carry out the negotiation in the way she has described. A free trade area, a customs agreement, a continuing agreement on security, all the things that we've laid out in two white papers, in a major letter to the commission and in a major Lancaster House speech."
James responded: "That of course being the point at which Theresa May became one of the people who was promoting it without having a plan on how to safely deliver it. That was after the referendum, before the snap general election that she called to increase her majority and saw her reduce her minority considerably and leave her reliant upon the DUP."
There was one final clip from the former Brexit Secretary: "We'd be better off in terms of global trade, we'd do better trade deals than the European Union does on our behalf. We would not lose anything in terms of our access to to European markets."
At the end, James summed it up: "You didn't vote for that plan? 'No, absolutely didn't believe a word David Davis said. Didn't believe a word Jacob Rees-Mogg said. Didn't believe a word Nigel Farage. Didn't believe a word Daniel Hannan said. Didn't believe a word Own Paterson said. I voted leave because I knew that all the most prominently Leave campaigners were lying.'
"That's what they reduced you to. And while you're still going to get angry with me for pointing it out, just like you got angry with Donald Tusk for holding up a mirror, it's not our fault what you see in the mirror."
