The only 5 takedowns you need of the MP who accidentally made the argument for EU membership

MP Brandon Lewis, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, recently denied that Brexit had anything to do with current food shortages in the region, insisting that it’s all down to the pandemic.

It isn’t.

On Thursday’s episode of Question Time, he inadvertently made the case for being in the European Union.

“As part of the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland is going to have this unique competitive advantage in the world”@BrandonLewis says NI businesses have a ”huge opportunity” with access to the UK and the EU through the single market. #bbcqt pic.twitter.com/gH2LwUE099

— BBC Question Time (@bbcquestiontime) January 21, 2021

As you can imagine – everyone had the same reaction. These five tweeters expressed it particularly well.

1.

This “single market” that Northern Ireland is in sounds amazing. If only the rest of the UK could be part of it too. https://t.co/Ub26oBplTW

— David Schneider (@davidschneider) January 22, 2021

2.

It’s perhaps a little late for the UK government to recognise the advantages of being in the single market… https://t.co/m4Me3G5mNa

— Larry the Cat (@Number10cat) January 22, 2021

3.

We all had this ”huge opportunity with access to the UK and the EU through the single market." a proper journalist would have picked up on this but unfortunately the BBC and Question Time employs Fiona Bruce instead. #BBCQT https://t.co/CgB0VSKVjU

— Britgirl Explains Brexit #FBPE (@MarieAnnUK) January 22, 2021

4.

This "unique competitive advantage" from being in both the EU single market and UK internal market sounds great, how do we sign up? https://t.co/HCA9btw54r

— Dan Bloom (@danbloom1) January 22, 2021

5.

Without any apparent irony a Government Minister spells out the competitive advantage of being in the EU single market. You couldn’t make it up. https://t.co/TvyCGjFZcv

— Andrea Catherwood (@acatherwoodnews) January 21, 2021

This could do wonders for the viewing figures.

#bbcqt would be so much improved if it had a gunge tank which was specifically placed above Brandon Lewis’s head

— dave ❄️ 🥕 🧻 (@davemacladd) January 21, 2021

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This clip of Boris Johnson talking about the single market hasn’t aged well

Source BBC Image Guillaume Périgois on Unsplash, Screengrab