Brexiteer claims EU departure like 'end of Stuart dynasty'

Sir Bill Cash. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA. - Credit: PA Wire/PA Images

A Brexiteer has compared the UK’s departure from the European Union marks the biggest change to politics since the evolution of democracy at the end of the Stuart dynasty.

Tory MP Bill Cash claimed: “It is a momentous moment which, by any historic standards, can only be compared in peacetime to what happened in the late 1680s and ‘90s.

“Which was the removal of the Stuarts, but followed by the new parliamentary constitutional arrangements which were enacted through the Act of Succession with the Hanoverians going on the throne.

“But followed by evolution of modern democracy which was only ruptured, apart from war, in terms of potential dangers of conquest, but was actually only disrupted by our entry into the European Community on the false prospectus in 1972.”

Mark Francois, chair of the European Research Group, meanwhile claimed that a “truly terrible year” had been salvaged by Brexit.

“After a truly terrible year and a great struggle for our liberty, it’s a marvellous example of a buy one, get one free.”

Peter Bone said he had celebrated the event with French champagne to “show that we are pro-Europe but anti-EU”.

“It has been a very long campaign and we’ve gone from being looked on as being strange people that wanted to leave this wonderful European Union by the establishment who have always held that view, to being able to campaign and get the support of people to defeat the establishment”.

Responding to Cash’s remarks, one on Twitter quipped: “Seems odd but the House of Stuart was replaced by the House of Hanover which is part of Europe so Brexit is going the wrong way”.

“Stuarts were succeeded by a George I, a German, couldn’t even speak English. Ironic,” commented Winston Smith.