James O’Brien issues a strong warning to Remainers over ‘Brexit gloating’ but not everyone agrees

LBC presenter James O’Brien issued a warning to Remainers not to “gloat” over Brexit’s outcome.

Boris Johnson assured voters that there was “zero chance” the UK would leave the EU without a trade deal last year: he has now admitted that this is a “strong possibility”.

But while it might be tempting, saying ‘I told you so’ would be “stupid”, O’Brien argued.

The pro-Remain broadcaster said:

“It’s stupid. How can you gloat about something that’s just going to hurt you?”

Emphasising the point that members of the public shouldn’t look down on each other over Brexit, he added:

“I get it. Some people won’t be able to help themselves, particularly in some of the personal interactions you may have had.

[But] the people that thought the British public were stupid are the people who are now in the British cabinet. So there’s not going to be any gloating and triumphalism, but there is going to be truth. There are going to be facts.”

O’Brien was praised for raising this point, initially written about by Robert Shrimsley in The Financial Times. 

Some people agreed that the damage a no deal Brexit could do to the UK and its economy isn’t anything to gloat about.

But others felt that their hurt and anger over Brexit was being misinterpreted for gloating and that their emotions shouldn’t be policed.

Anger with the government, and grief over Brexit’s possible outcome, is understandable: after all, we’ve all had to live through four years of uncertainty only for it to end with another broken promise.

We can probably agree, though, that gloating isn’t going to help anyone navigate the uncertainty that now lies ahead.