The boss of the J D Wetherspoon pub chain has strong opinions about the relationship Britain has with the EU. Tim Martin (for it is he) has not been off the airwaves for months now, telling anyone who will listen that Brexit will be A Very Good Thing. Heâs even had a propaganda pamphlet culled from anti-EU press articles delivered to most houses in the country, even those where there isnât a Spoons in town (like Crewe).
But heâs not had to answer too many questions along the way. So Owen Jones decided to correct that anomaly, and sat down with The Great Man at a Spoons in Southend-on-Sea. Why, he asked Martin, did people vote for Brexit? âYou never knew where EU laws started, and British law endedâ. That turned out not to be a wise move.
Which EU law didnât he like, asked Jones. âItâs too disective [?] to boil it down ⊠let me give you one example of the EU, OK? There was huge pressure on us to join the predecessor of the Euro, which was the Exchange Rate Mechanismâ. Ah, âbut that was a voluntary decision. We werenât compelled to join the ERMâ, pointed out Jones.
Martin had another go. â70% of people thought it was inevitable that the UK would join [the Euro] ⊠I donât like the Eurozone, I think itâs very dangerousâ. Jones pointed out that we werenât in the Eurozone. Martin complained about being interrupted.
Jones called him out. âI think there are many valid criticisms to be made of the EU, but you havenât found a single law you object to ⊠and youâve brought up the Eurozone, which weâre not members of ⊠if the Eurozone goes wrong, itâs irrelevant whether weâre in the EU or not ⊠but youâre not coming up with a valid criticism?â.
It was not going well. And Martin then ensured that it got worse. âHow would I know if an individual law ⊠itâs almost impossible to know if an individual law is made by the EU, or by the UKâ. Christ on a bike, heâs advocating for Brexit and heâs not done his homework.
Jones tried another tack, to point out that in many Leave-voting parts of the country, voters were fed up with the way the country was being run - the implicit suggestion being that some may have blamed the EU for the failings of Westminster. Martin was not persuaded. âIâve heard people say that. I think itâs a slightly patronising view. The assumption is they didnât understand the vote, thatâs the implicationâ. Er, no.
Then came the part Martin really didnât like. âThe truth is that you yourself are part of the elite. Youâre a very wealthy man,â pitched Jones. âAnd many of your workers are on poverty wagesâ. It was just a silly conversation, countered The Great Man.
Jones had another go. âTheyâre being paid ÂŁ8.05 an hour. You canât live on ÂŁ8.05 an hour. Surely you could give then a little bit better?â Martin was by now getting flaky. âOwen, youâre constantly interrupting me. This is a childish interview. Youâve been on the Stella. This is whatâs causing him to interruptâ. Shades of Julia Hartley Dooda there.
Martin accused Jones of being ârude and aggressiveâ but declined to engage on the subject of wages. Nor did he manage to cite one of those EU laws he didnât like.
Another Brexiteer probed, another car crash. Itâs starting to become a habit.
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