UK Government is 'Trying to Frustrate the Wishes of the People' – British MEP

© AP Photo / Matt DunhamA pro-remain supporter of Britain staying in the EU, holds up an EU flag whilst taking part in an anti-Brexit protest outside the Houses of Parliament in London (File)
A pro-remain supporter of Britain staying in the EU, holds up an EU flag whilst taking part in an anti-Brexit protest outside the Houses of Parliament in London (File) - Sputnik International
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The UK government is suspected of covertly planning to remain in the European Union after The Telegraph uncovered that the Cabinet has allocated over $1.1 million for what it called "activities relating to a European Parliamentary Election in 2019." Sputnik discussed the speculations with David Coburn, a British MEP with the UK Independence Party.

Sputnik: Why is it that the domestic legislation required for the UK to leave the EU still hasn't been adopted?

David Coburn: Well, the repeal bill has been blocked and frustrated by the House of Lords. Of course the reason for that is that the Chamber has over the years has been packed with cronies of Tony Blair and David Cameron. UKIP came third in the 2015 elections and won the European elections and yet received no peerages whatsoever, whilst the Liberal Democrats, who lost most of their seats, were given peerages in abundance.

Many of those appointed to the House of Lords are former MEPs and EU officials. 30 of them receive pensions to the tune of some combined £500,000, which according to some newspapers is the same as £10,000,000 in the private sector. And one of the conditions of this pension contract is not to criticize Brussels. In fact, they are being incentivized to support it.

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Combine those 30 peers with friends and cronies of previous prime ministers or ministers who chosen loyalty to the EU, and you have a central part of the House of Lords with a personal agenda. It is no longer chosen by God. It is chosen by little crooked ex-prime ministers. There you go.

Sputnik: Do you believe there is any scenario out there, any possibility that the UK might not leave the EU after all?

David Coburn: No, I think we will leave. It's a question of how we leave. Whether we still will be attached to some sort of customs arrangement — which is utterly unacceptable. Because the reason for leaving is in order to have the freedom to do as we please and make sure that we get, what we want to get.

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If we don't get that, if we can't make trade treaties with all the other countries in the world without having to put out to 27 other states, then the whole point of Brexit is lost. And that's essentially what they are trying to do — they are trying to destroy Brexit. They are trying to frustrate the wishes of the people.

Sputnik: Looking ahead towards the near future, when do you think there will be more clarity about how the UK is going to leave the EU?

David Coburn: Well, we have got a rotten conservative government, a pretty rotten prime minister, who, to be quite frank, went into these negotiations with the wrong attitude. I mean, she should've gone in and played hardball. We have a lot of advantages that we can press them with.

READ MORE: It's Official: UK Economy Grows Slowest in 5 Years Amid Brexit Crossfire

I'm a businessman. I've spent all my life doing deals. And nobody in their right mind would have ever entered a deal in the way that this government has. This prime minister is utterly hopeless, she doesn't know what she is doing. But she's never run a business; she has never been involved in business. So, what can I say? She doesn't know what she is doing. She has been in government far too long and she has been MP far too long.

The views and opinions expressed are those of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect those of Sputnik.

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