Doesn’t quite roll off the tongue like Brexit, does it?
Former UKIP leader Nigel Farage has suggested that Ireland could follow in the footsteps of Britain and leave the European Union if there is evidence in the near future that Britain is better off for having done so.
Speaking on Today with Sean O’Rourke on RTÉ on Wednesday in the aftermath of the resignation of Sir Ivan Rogers as Britain’s ambassador to the EU, Farage also rejected the notion of Ireland as a pro-EU country on the evidence of how the Irish people have voted on EU referendums in the recent past.
Asked by O’Rourke if Ireland should consider leaving the European Union, Farage said: “I think this… if the British government gets on with Brexit and if, two or three years down the road, we are clearly better off, better off democratically because we’re running our own affairs, better off economically because we’ve reached out to the world, better off in terms of some of our industries… I think if we can do that then the pressure in Ireland and public opinion in Ireland will very much move in our direction.”
“It’s one of the great stories that gets put about that Ireland is this very pro-EU country and yet, twice in the last 16 years, the Irish people in referendums have rejected European treaties,” Farage added.
In outlining his reasons for his resignation on Wednesday, Ivan Rogers claimed that is not yet known “what the government will set as negotiating objectives for the UK’s relationship with the EU after exit”.
Farage claimed that Rogers’ resignation was the first sign that Prime Minister Theresa May was getting tough with those who disagreed with Brexit.
You can listen to Sean O’Rourke’s interview with Nigel Farage in full here.
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