James O'Brien's clash with caller who tried to defend Brexit bus claim
6 December 2019, 15:06
This was James O'Brien's response to a caller who tried to defend the famous Brexit bus claim that each week the UK sends £350 million to the EU.
"The problem can't be with the word 'send' if the numbers were wrong," James told the caller who insisted that the word 'send' was the the incorrect aspect of the Brexit bus, which said "We send the EU £350million a week".
James said: "That bus not only got the number wrong, and under your analysis the word 'send' wrong, but the implied suggestion that we would have money to spare as a result of leaving the European Union was a massive lie.
"You fell for it," he said.
The caller Darren claimed he didn't fall for 80% of the Leave statements and James surmised that Darren gave his vote "to the people that told all those lies."
Darren and James clashed over whether Remain politicians lied and Darren called the actions of Bank of England governor Mark Carney into question, insisting that the on the day of the vote he should have been clearer on the economic outcome of Brexit.
"You ignored the warning Darren, don't get cross with him," James said, "between now and judgement day you're going to have to start getting cross with yourself."
James said that Darren was the example of a bright, liberal man who "still clings to the notion that what he did in June of 2016 wasn't really stupid."
"He's picking on the people that warned him that it was for not having told him more."
He continued that the number on that bus was false as was the implication that we would be better off.
"It is completely broken," said James, "it is precisely what Donald Trump described when he talked about being able to shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and not lose a single vote. You're still cheering or booing according to the colour of your scarf.
"We're all on the same team but half the country doesn't realise it yet."
