Nigel Farage stood his ground during Wednesday’s episode of I’m A Celebrity when he was put on the spot by Tony Bellew and Josie Gibson about Brexit.
Farage has already faced his fair share of debates in camp – most notably with the now-axed Fred Siriex – about his politics but this time was the first involving former boxer Bellew.
The debate kicked off when Gibson probed: “Nige, do you think you’ve come into this and achieved everything you want to have achieved?”
“To some extent, I hope so, yeah,” Farage replied. “After some of the press stuff I’ve had to put up with over 10 years or more, you sort of get just demonised by these people.
“So I thought I’ll come and do it, people see who you really are… it might help, it might not but it might help.”
Bellew was keen to learn more about Farage’s past and his public perception as he weighed in: “You don’t have – am I right in thinking, you don’t sit in the Houses of Parliament?”
Tony Bellew put Farage on the spot about Brexit
ITV/SHUTTERSTOCK
“No, no, I was in the European Parliament for 21 years. I’m out now,” Farage replied, prompting Bellew to ask: “What’s the job of being in the European Parliament?”
Farage explained: “Make laws. When we were members of the EU, they helped to shape more laws than the British Parliament.”
“And you didn’t like some of the laws that they made?” Gibson asked to which Farage replied: “I didn’t like the way they were being made. Once something had passed through the European legislative system, there was nothing the British Parliament could do to change it, nothing!”
Gibson then reflected in the Bush Telegraph: “I didn’t know he used to work for the European Parliament, I thought he was just like this little MP troublemaker! It just goes to show how ignorant I’ve been.”
Back in camp, the debate continued as Gibson admitted: “Brexit baffled me because I didn’t know what those European laws were.
“How would I know what I was actually voting for? So what were the main concerns in European laws you were frightened of?”
Farage listed off: “I think we should make our own laws on farming, fishing, financial services, the insurance industry…we should be in charge of our own country – that’s the point!
“And once we’re in charge, it doesn’t guarantee that things are better but it means we’re in charge,” he added but Bellew wasn’t convinced: “But now they’ve p**sed that power up the wall.”
“Well they’ve got it, they haven’t used it that well, I agree,” Farage weighed back in as Bellew continued: “And the costs we’ve incurred since leaving the European Union is astronomical.”
“And the savings too, we’ve saved a lot of money,” Farage pointed out but Bellew hit back: “But we’re not seeing that, as the general people outside we’re not seeing that.”
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“Yeah, and that’s what people are p**sed off about,” Farage agreed as Bellew’s retort went on: “We were promised X amount going to the NHS.”
“Well I think it did, to be honest… but it’s a bottomless pit frankly,” Farage answered.
The questions kept on coming Farage’s way as Gibson chipped back in: “Do you think things would’ve turned out differently if you hadn’t gone down the migrant route?”
“No, I think not controlling your border was the biggest reason we won,” Farage defiantly replied before Gibson asked: “Well, has that changed?”
“That’s the problem, no it hasn’t,” Farage conceded as Bellew tried to clarify: “If you changed all these laws, Nigel, why haven’t they been done correctly?”
“That’s the point,” Farage said before the conversation drew to a close following a chat about how much more expensive food costs have gone in Britain and across Europe.
Gibson, Farage and Bellew have all made it to the final six alongside Danielle Harold, Sam Thompson and Marvin Humes.
And you can do your bit to keep Farage in the jungle by voting for him to stay – you can read more about exactly how here.
James Parker is a UK-based entertainment aficionado who delves into the glitz and glamour of the entertainment industry. From Hollywood to the West End, he offers readers an insider’s perspective on the world of movies, music, and pop culture.
