Callers Get Into Heated Row Over Whether Brexit Referendum Was Based On Lies

26 October 2019, 14:48 | Updated: 26 October 2019, 14:49

A pro-Remain caller and a pro-Brexit caller strongly disagreed over whether people were lied to during the Brexit referendum.

Diksha, a Remainer from Reading, and John, a Leaver in Eastbourne, got into a heated row about how democratic the exercise was.

John said: "Besides The logical reason why we shouldn't add another referendum, I mean, in the last 40 years we've had dozens of general elections and the result of that democratic vote at that time was always accepted. We didn't say we don't like the fact that the Tories or Labour have won, we'll have another."

Matt replied: "Because you knew that in five years time or four years time you'd get the chance to vote again, because governments aren't forever. A referendum is a once in a generation thing. Well, that's the way it was sold."

John said: "Do we believe in the democratic process? The democratic process was offered to the British people, the British people voted and and the decision has not been enacted, and then that's the problem for me."

Diksha said: "The people were told lies by both the Remainers and the Brexiters, so we got a decision that was based on lies. How can something that is based on lies be carried through."

John insisted that he didn't vote based on lies and his opinion hasn't changed.

Diksha said this was good to know but wanted to know if John knew "the real intricacies if what was going to happen if we left".

John replied: I'll tell you what I do know, what I do know is in the past 40 years, this country has paid out countless billions of pounds to the EU and even if we get a deal through at this late stage, the taxpayers of this country are gonna have to hand over another 40 billion and I really do feel enough is enough.

Diksha asked: "Do you feel that going forward we are not going to have those losses from revenues by stopping trading with the EU like we have done?"

She asked the "direct and very simple" question again to John.

John said: "At the end of the day the you do not want to stop trading with Britain because we import far more from Europe and they ever import from us. At the end of the day, Europe does not want Britain to succeed with Brexit."

Diksha replied: "If we were so important to them, John, they would have bent over backwards to keep us there but they haven't, have they?They've played a pretty tight game with us."

John accused her of " totally denying the one obvious problem we've got, that a vote was taken".

But Diksha insisted the vote was based on lies.

He said that was an opinion but Diksha said Boris Johnson has "even lied to the Queen" - and asked how he could even believe the man.

Matt then had to break up the row to go to the break - but the switchboard was "lighting up like an early season Christmas tree".