James O'Brien v Brexiter Who Failed To Do Any Research

2 September 2019, 15:44

This is what happened when a Brexit supporter tried to explain why we should be prepared to walk away from the EU - using her experience of selling pest control products.

Alison in Perth insisted it was a democratic decision that has to be respected regardless, but James told her that 17.4million people did not vote for a no-deal, they didn't vote to be poorer.

She then tried to explain why her past as as salesperson for pest control products meant she understood why no-deal Brexit had to be left on the table.

But James said to her: "Do you genuinely think there are parallels to be drawn between selling pest control and negotiating withdrawal from the European Union?

"It's very different. If you're selling antidotes to people who have been poisoned, the negotiations are very different than if you were selling it to people who haven't been poisoned."

When Alison accused him of "having a penchant for tying people in knots", James insisted: "It's not a penchant, it's an occupational hazard of ringing in without knowing what you're talking about."

Alison talked about how Switzerland could act as an example for the Irish border, but then when James said she wasn't right, she admitted: "Well I don't know, I've never been to Ireland."

James then told her: "This is what you mean by a penchant for tying people in knots. You've called in, you've used Switzerland as an example, it's fallen apart, you look ridiculous, I accept you're not stupid and you feel this is a result of my penchant for tying people in knots, rather than your utter failure to do even the most cursory of research."

Watch the full exchange at the top of the page.