James O'Brien's epic monologue on the state of British politics

4 June 2020, 12:05 | Updated: 4 June 2020, 12:13

By Adrian Sherling

This is James O'Brien's passionate round-up of the state of British politics as MPs queued around the block to vote - and a Cabinet Minister possibly brought coronavirus into the Commons.

Jacob Rees-Mogg's plan to bring MPs back to work saw queues for votes that stretched through the House of Commons.

Yesterday, Business Secretary Alok Sharma started self-isolating and took a Covid-19 test after starting to feel unwell.

And despite the UK's death toll yesterday being higher than the rest of the EU combined, James was baffled to see people still thinking the government are doing a good job.

Speaking on his LBC show, he said: "The daily death rate in this country is now more than the rest of the European Union combined, although these figures go up and down.

"If you'd said to me a year ago there was going to be a global pandemic, we're going to be the worst country in the world at handling to it and yet the football scarves will still work.

James O'Brien had tough words as he summed up the state of the government. Picture: LBC / PA

"You will still have people cheering Boris Johnson, even as he says he hasn't been in charge since January. He only took charge on Monday, he announced. Even I - as an arch-chronicler of the madness - would have baulked that the madness would have gone that far."

James then ran through what's happening in parliament at the moment - from the queues that "Brexit hard-man Steve Baker" called a farce and then voted for, to the committees organising the halting of freedom of movement while Boris Johnson calls for EU workers to come here.

It was a rip-roaring monologue - watch it at the top of the page.

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