James O'Brien Spots One Potentially Fatal Flaw In Boris Johnson's Plan
18 October 2019, 15:29
James O'Brien outlined a potentially fatal flaw in Boris Johnson's Brexit plan... and he seems to have predicted what is happening now.
The Prime Minister has agreed a deal with the European Union and is now appealing to MPs to pass it in tomorrow's vote.
With the DUP voting against it, he will need the support of two key groups - the so-called Spartans, who voted against Theresa May's withdrawal agreement every time, and the Tory MPs who had the whip withdrawn when they voted against a no-deal Brexit.
And James pointed out that Mr Johnson is currently trying to both talk up the possibility of a no-deal Brexit to appeal to one group and dismissing no-deal Brexit to attract the other.
Speaking on his LBC show, James said: "The so-called hard Brexiters are seeking reassurances from the Attorney General that if we don't agree a Free Trade Agreement by the end of next year, crashing out with no deal would then become the reality. They want to be reassured of that.
"Boris Johnson is also desperately wooing the votes from the 21 MPs from whom he withdrew the whip after they used their vote in parliament to minimise the risk of crashing out with no-deal.
"This is, I think, the perfect articulation of why I am so befuddled. He needs both of these.
"Whether he gets it through or not I cannot say, but at the moment, he is seeking to persuade hard Brexiters that no-deal is still on the table, while also seeking the votes of people who were deprived of the Conservative whip because of the passion of their opposition to no-deal."
Watch his full monologue at the top of the page.
