Boris Johnson delivers scathing speech hitting out at 'lack of democracy' in EU structure

Boris Johnson has delivered a scathing speech in India.
Dave Benett
Bonnie Christian5 March 2019
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Boris Johnson has delivered a scathing speech to an audience in India, hitting out at the “lack of democracy” in the EU structure saying: “I have no idea how to kick those particular b******s out”.

The former Foreign Secretary and Brexiteer mocked the leaders who run the EU at a conference in New Delhi on Saturday.

He said Brexit was misunderstood by those who say it is an “xenophobic, nationalistic and reactionary phenomenon.”

"My objection to the EU was not that it was run by foreigners. The problem is we don't really know who is running it," Johnson said, referring to the the five presidents of the EU commission, council of ministers, parliament and other bodies.

Boris Johnson.
Jeremy Selwyn

"I couldn't tell you who they are, or what they do or how they came by their jobs or how they may be removed from office.

"I have no idea how to kick those particular b******s out -- I'm not saying they are b*******s. But millions and millions of people in the UK have no idea how the system works. It's completely cut off to them."

The saying refers to the British political system that gives voters the ability to "kick the b******s out" when parties tire of a government and became the title of a 2010 paper by the Electoral Reform Society.

Questioned about pressure for a repeat of the 2016 referendum, Mr Johnson said: “I don’t think that’s possible.”

"I think that the anger in the population would be so intense and the tedium -- people would be driven absolutely round the bend by the idea of having to vote on this thing again."

"It was a very acrimonious, very divisive campaign" in 2016, he said, predicting any second vote would produce the same result.

Mr Johnson added that those who predict disaster for Britain outside the EU are "chicken lickens" but said there were still "many in the upper reaches of the UK government."

"They are like the people who said that Columbus would sail off the edge of the world."

"There is a very big struggle going on over what Brexit really means," he said.

"The treasury and the whole system, they are really too nervous of taking the leap," he added. Without control of tariffs and regulation, "sincerely you might as well be in" the EU, he said.

"Unless you have the freedom then stay in. I don't think the UK is going to stay in or that the UK should stay in," he added.

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