James O'Brien picks a hole in Jacob Rees-Mogg's Brexit tweet
After spotting that the Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg had sent a tweet urging the UK to be 'difficult' while the country remains in the EU, James O'Brien took the airwaves on LBC Radio to point out what he sees as a rather large problem with this sentiment.
The chairman of the European Research Group (ERG) has appeared increasingly angry in recent days at the Prime Minster's proposed extension the date of Britain leaving the EU until June 30.
If a long extension leaves us stuck in the EU we should be as difficult as possible. We could veto any increase in the budget, obstruct the putative EU army and block Mr Macron's integrationist schemes.
— Jacob Rees-Mogg (@Jacob_Rees_Mogg) April 5, 2019
O'Brien pointed out that a claim of many who back Brexit has been that the UK has had little power in EU discussions: "You were told for several years that the European Union is an institution over which we exercise next to no influence whatsoever. We are forced to cowtow to whatever directives come from Brussels. We have no power to stop things we don't like.
"Which makes this intervention from the chairman of the European Research Group so fascinating.
"Years spent telling us we have no influence, no control - "we've got to take back control" - then the J-dog sends that tweet.
"We will never know whether Jacob Rees-Mogg has always believed that we have the power to exercise enormous influence, albeit in his rather pathetic bleating tweet this morning, negative power, sabotage.
"But you can't do that unless you have the power in the first place."
