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A Leave voter who wants to exit the European Union so the UK can take “control of our own laws” has been embarrassed on a radio phone-in when he failed to name a single EU law he was most keen to get rid of.
Ashley, a self-employed electrician who called in to James O’Brien’s LBC radio show , claimed he was willing to take a “short-term” financial hit to his business if it meant leaving the EU.
He asserted he did not listen to the spurious economic claims made by the Leave campaign, but voted to exit the EU “for the independence” and to “control our own laws”.
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Jason Hawkes
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Lead campaigner Gina Miller and her team outside the High Court
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Raymond McCord holds up his newly issued Irish passport alongside his British passport outside the High Court in Belfast following a judges dismissal of the UK's first legal challenges to Brexit
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SDLP leader Colum Eastwood leaving the High Court in Belfast following a judges dismissal of the UK's first legal challenges to Brexit
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Migrants with luggage walk past a graffiti on a wall as they leave the 'Jungle' migrant camp, as part of a major three-day operation planned to clear the camp in Calais
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Migrants leave messages on their tents in the Jungle migrant camp
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The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (Adra) which distributes approximately 700 meals daily in the northern Paris camp states that it is noticing a spike in new migrant arrivals this week, potentially linked the the Calais 'jungle' camp closure - with around 1000 meals distributed today
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Migrant workers pick apples at Stocks Farm in Suckley, Britain
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Bank of England governor Mark Carney who said the long-term outlook for the UK economy is positive, but growth was slowing in the wake of the Brexit vote
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The Dow Jones industrial average closed down over 600 points on the news with markets around the globe pluninging
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Immigration officers deal with each member of the public seeking entry into the United Kingdom but on average, 10 a day are refused entry at this London airport and between 2008 and 2009, 33,100 people were detained at the airport for mainly passport irregularities
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A number of global investment giants have threatened to move their European operations out of London if Brexit proves to have a negative impact on their businesses
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A woman looking at a chart showing the drop in the pound (Sterling) against the US Dollar in London after Britain voted to leave the EU
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Young protesters outside the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, to protest against the United Kingdom's decision to leave the EU following the referendum
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Applications from Northern Ireland citizens for Irish Passports has soared to a record high after the UK Voted in favour of Leaving the EU
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NFU Vice President Minette Batters with Secretary of State, Andrea Leadsome at the National Farmers Union (NFU) took machinery, produce, farmers and staff to Westminster to encourage Members of Parliament to back British farming, post Brexit
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The latest reports released by the UK Cabinet Office warn that expats would lose a range of specific rights to live, to work and to access pensions, healthcare and public services. The same reports added that UK citizens abroad would not be able to assume that these rights will be guaranteed in the future
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A British resident living in Spain asks questions during an informative Brexit talk by the "Brexpats in Spain" group, about Spanish legal issues to become Spanish citizens, at the town hall in Benalmadena, Spain
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When asked by Mr O’Brien which specific laws he disliked, Ashley initially responded: “Any.”
On being pressed further, he jokingly responded: “The shape of your bananas”.
Mr O’Brien remained unimpressed: “It's not funny, is it? The pound is at the lowest it's been since 1985, you just said "any law" and I'm just asking you to name one.
"We both know that bananas was a lie made up by Boris Johnson. Remind me which side he was on during the Leave campaign.
"What is the law? You know you were going to take short-term economic damage, you knew that all your customers would do as a newly-formed electrician company. Every single customer in the country is going to be potentially worse off than they were before the vote.
"So I'm just wondering what those laws are that you won't have to obey any more that made you vote for this short-term economic hit.
"Can you name one?"
Ashley's responded: "I wouldn't be able to, no."
Ashley later explained he voted to Leave because the UK should have greater control over its immigration policy.
“If immigration is all you’ve got, then you’re the cliché,” Mr O’Brien commented.
The exchange took place amid claims that the Brexit vote could wipe £800 from the annual wages of the UK’s lowest-paid workers.
During the referendum campaign, Mr O’Brien grilled a number of leading politicians who spearheaded the Leave campaign, notably Nigel Farage.
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