LBC Radio host James O’Brien has gone viral for his explanation of how the Brexit slogan that Boris Johnson used throughout the 2019 general election has essentially ‘blindfolded’ the Tories.
In the seven-minute clip from Friday’s edition of his talk radio show, which has now been viewed more than two million times on Twitter alone, O’Brien, a fierce anti-Brexit commentator, examines the almighty backlash that the government has received following this week’s Owen Paterson scandal.
“’Get Brexit done’ was a blindfold. It was earmuffs. It was an invitation to ignore the evidence of your eyes and ears,” begins O’Brien. “But when Brexit gets done, you take the blindfold off, you take the earmuffs off, and it takes you a little while to reacclimatise.”
The veteran radio host then moves onto Paterson, who lobbied ministers on behalf of two companies in exchange for £100,000-per-year, and Andrea Leadsom, who motioned an amendment to avoid Paterson from being suspended for 30 days which the government voted through on Wednesday before u-turning on Thursday morning.
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“And then along comes Andrea Leadsom and Owen Paterson like a Jack and Jill of political incompetence, one of whom has behaved in an appalling fashion and refused to admit it or acknowledge it, and one of whom is prepared to introduce an amendment to the House of Commons, not only to let him off the hook but also to rip up the entire rulebook put in place to combat corruption.
“And they’ve fallen under the spell of the ‘Get Brexit Done’ slogan as well. Whether consciously or unconsciously, they think they can get away with murder, metaphorically speaking.”
This one’s growing quicker than concrete! Thanks a million. pic.twitter.com/HI4QjWsxnx
— James Oh Brien (@mrjamesob) November 6, 2021
O’Brien adds: “Owen Paterson taking half a million quid off a couple of companies that he then lobbied the government for, that didn’t ‘Get Brexit Done’.
“That’s got nothing to do with Brexit. Suddenly, like the sun coming over the horizon after a dark and dismal night, you understand why they’re bringing Brexit back into it.”
This comes as the government have resumed ramping up their rhetoric towards the European Union with Keir Starmer accusing Boris Johnson on Sunday of returning to Brexit in the hope of distracting the public away from the Paterson scandal.
Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng even used Brexit as an example of Boris Johnson “promoting and upholding the principles of standards in public life.”
"Can you give an example of Boris Johnson promoting and upholding the principles of standards in public life," asks Nick Robinson on @BBCr4today
— Lizzy Buchan (@LizzyBuchan) November 4, 2021
Kwasi Kwarteng says: "We had a manifesto commitment to deliver Brexit and we delivered Brexit"
“Brexit was the blindfold. Brexit was the earmuffs. Brexit was the thing you could say and then the public would go ‘Oh, OK, carry on,’” added O’Brien.
O’Brien analysis of the Paterson situation has now been widely shared on Twitter, with many people feeling that he has hit the nail on the head.
Not exactly a bedtime story, maybe, but a v fine piece of analysis monologue. A new genre invented here by @mrjamesob https://t.co/BwEI9CKs2N
— Annette Dittert (@annettedittert) November 6, 2021
I’ve listened now and it is brilliantly well done. Thatcher and Attlee both denounced referendums as “the preserve of dictators and demagogues”. The 2016 referendum has been used as a cudgel against the institutions of liberal democracy. We need left and right to defend them. https://t.co/Q3oyjD0lZi
— David Miliband (@DMiliband) November 6, 2021
If they can rush release this as a single it’s got Christmas number one written all over it. I’d buy a vinyl picture disc for all my relatives who NEED to hear it. @mrjamesob https://t.co/UKWFg5FIly
— Steven Battelle (@StevenJBattelle) November 6, 2021
This is nothing short of iconic, I’d say it is historic.
— Super Tanskiii (@supertanskiii) November 6, 2021
James O’Brien knocked it out of the park, cracked it, solved the puzzle.
It was an aha moment for us all.
His audience growing at an exponential rate, gives me hope. #ToryCorruption @mrjamesob https://t.co/1Ms7jVm7MJ
This is particularly sharp from 4 mins. “#brexit was the thing you could say, and the public would say ‘all right, carry on’”…but with #OwenPaterson it couldn’t wash. https://t.co/xqR6UjZ8wu
— Peter Foster (@pmdfoster) November 6, 2021