Nigel Farage post-Brexit: 17 years ago you laughed at me, you are not laughing now

“What happened last Thursday was a remarkable result. It was indeed a seismic result, not just for British politics, but for European politics but perhaps even for global politics too. … And in doing so we now offer a beacon of hope to democrats across the rest of the European continent.” Nigel Farage at European Parliament, Brussels, 28 June, 2016.

Source: RobinHoodUKIP YouTube channel.

Transcript:

Isn’t it funny? When I came here 17 years ago and I said that I wanted to lead a campaign go get Britain to leave the European Union, you all laughed at me. Well, I have to say, you’re not laughing now, are you?

And the reason you’re so upset, the reason you’re so angry, has been perfectly clear from all the angry exchanges this morning. You, as a political project, are in denial. You are in denial that your currency is failing.

Just look at the Mediterranean. As a policy to impose poverty on Greece and the rest of the Mediterranean, you’ve done very well. And you are in denial over Mrs Merkel’s call last year for as many people as possible to cross the Mediterranean into the European Union. [It] has led to massive divisions within countries and between countries.

But the biggest problem you’ve got, and the main reason the United Kingdom voted the way that it did, is that you have, by stealth, by deception, without ever telling the truth to the British or the rest of the people’s of Europe, you have imposed upon them a political union.

And when the people in 2005 in the Netherlands and France voted against the political union, when they rejected the constitution, you simply ignored them and brought the Lisbon treaty in through the back door.

What happened last Thursday was a remarkable result. It was indeed a seismic result, not just for British politics, but for European politics but perhaps even for global politics too. Because what the little people did, what the ordinary people did, what the people who have been oppressed over the last few years and who have seen their living standards go down, they rejected the multinationals, they rejected the merchant banks, they rejected big politics. And they said, actually, we want our country back. We want our fishing waters back. We want our borders back. And we want to be an independent, self-governing, normal nation and that is what we have done and that is what must happen. And in doing so we now offer a beacon of hope to democrats across the rest of the European continent.

I will make one prediction this morning; the United Kingdom will not be the last member state to leave the European Union. The question is: what do we do next? It is up to the British government to invoke Article 50 and I don’t think we should spend too long in doing it. I totally agree that the British people have voted, we need to make sure that it happens.

But what I’d like to see is a grown-up and sensible attitude to how we negotiate a different relationship. I know that virtually none of you have never done a proper job in your lives, or worked in business, or worked in trade, or indeed ever created a job. But listen, just listen.

[MEPs boo. Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament, calls for order]

You’re quite right Mr Schultz – Ukip used to protest against the establishment and now the establishment protests against Ukip. So, something has happened here. Now, just listen to some simple pragmatic economics. My country and your country, between us we do an enormous amount of business in goods and services. That trade is mutually beneficial to both of us; that trade matters. If you were to cut off your noses to spite your faces and reject any idea of a sensible trade deal, the consequences would be far worse for you than it would be for us.

[Laughter from MEPs]

Even no deal is better for the United Kingdom than the current rotten deal that we’ve got. But if we were to move to a position where tariffs were reintroduced on products like motorcars then hundreds of thousands of German works would risk losing their jobs.

So, why don’t we be grown up, pragmatic, sensible, realistic and let’s cut between us a sensible tariff-free deal, and thereafter recognize that the United Kingdom will be your friend; that we will trade with you, cooperate with you, we will be your best friends in the world. But do that, do it sensibly, and allow us to go off and pursue our global ambitions and future. Thank you.