James O'Brien On The Myth Of Controlling Money, Borders And Laws After Brexit
16 November 2018, 12:12 | Updated: 16 November 2018, 12:44
James O'Brien explained why the claims of Brexit allowing us to take back control are a complete myth.
During her LBC phone-in this morning, Theresa May said that the British people voted to Leave the EU in order to regain control over our money, borders and laws.
But James went through them one by one to show what that simply isn't the case.
Speaking on his LBC show, he said: "It all started going wrong when instead of talking about tangible benefits - stuff you can count and measure - we talked and talk still about undefinable phenomena like control.
"I heard her [Theresa May] doing it with Nick today - 'we can control our money, our borders and our laws'."
On Taking Back Control Of Our Money
"What money are you talking about? Is it the minuscule proportion of UK expenditure that is currently sent to the European Union? Because we do that optionally.
"It's 0.7%. I can see that you are sentient when you say you can't control it, but in the same way that you can't control what your electricity bill is going to be.
"It's a tiny part of our overall expenditure and of course we control it because we choose to pay it. It's an utterly meaningless phrase. It doesn't mean anything."
On Taking Back Control Of Our Borders
"Are you not aware of the European Union regulations which tell us how we could control our borders, if only we had chosen to.
"Are you forgetting that it was a choice by Tony Blair to allow those nations who ascended to EU membership during his Premiership immediate access to freedom of movement. He didn't have to. The Germans didn't. Other European countries didn't.
"They had control over their borders. They chose to exercise it. We had control over our borders. We chose not to exercise it. So what do you mean when you say control our borders? Meaningless."
On Taking Back Control Of Our Laws
"If we can't control our laws, why did the former editor of the Daily Mail spit his dummy out his mouth when High Court judges intervened on matters Brexit related?
"If we can't control our laws, how come people keep getting arrested and sent to jail?"
