A Leave voter in the BBC Question Time audience has claimed he was misled over the Brexit divorce bill and the fault lies with the European Union because it didn’t mention it in 1973.
Speaking on Thursday night’s show, the gentlemen asked: “Theresa May wants a two-year interim deal paying £20 billion before we finally leave the EU - is this what we really voted for?”
Host, David Dimbleby said: “Do you think it’s what we voted for?”
He answered: “No. We voted to leave without paying money. We voted to leave Europe with no exit fee because we joined with no entrance fee and we were not told the truth when we joined.”
The UK joined the EU in 1973 and presumably the intricacies of leaving 44 years later weren’t top of the agenda.
And here is Edward Heath in 1972 explaining exactly what European countries moving “closer and closer together” actually means (at around the 11 minute mark.
A Brexit “settlement” was reported in the run up to the referendum when it was discussed by the European Commission’s chief negotiator.
But to the Leave side’s gain and the Remain side’s loss, it was lost amongst other topics, notably immigration, borders and “taking back control”.
A search of Nigel Farage and Leave.EU’s Twitter accounts make no mention of a “Brexit bill” in the six months before the vote although both are rather vocal about it now.
And the Remain side failed to capitalise on the notion when trying to justify staying in the EU.
Tory MP, Kwasi Kwarteng, answered the gentleman’s question only to be put down by Labour’s Jess Phillips.
He said: “I definitely feel a sense of frustration about all the people who are trying to keep us in the EU and all these demands for really exorbitant amounts of money.
“The EU budget was set in 2013... and I think really as a matter of goodwill there is a sense in saying we will pay until the end of that budget process and not a penny more.”
Phillips responded: “I think what Kwasi just said wouldn’t have fitted on the side of a bus, but is a more reasonable answer to the actual facts. And the reason that people feel that this wasn’t what they voted for is because there was nowhere near enough clarity before [the referendum] and there were an awful lot of lies told, essentially.”