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Kate Plummer
Feb 10, 2022
Natalie Elphicke claims traffic jams in Dover are because of Brussels bureaucracy ...
Independent
A Tory MP has left people rolling their eyes after she blamed the EU, not Brexit, for traffic jams near the port of Dover.
Speaking in the house of commons on Wednesday, Natalie Elphicke asked the prime minister to meet with her to deal with Dover traffic jams, and blamed the EU for the issues people are experiencing in the area.
She said:
"Dover is once again beset by miles of traffic jams along the motorways affecting residents and local businesses alike, not because of Brexit, but because of Brussels bureaucracy and red tape."
Johnson replied: "She's absolutely right in what she says".
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It comes after numerous reports of long queues of HGV lorry drivers struggling to get into the port this year, in part due to post Brexit checks on the border which came into force last year.
Rod McKenzie, executive director for policy and public affairs for the Road Haulage Association, released a statement saying that post-Brexit border checks "mean friction where none existed" while the public spending watchdog found that there have been more border delays since Britain’s withdrawal from the EU.
Meanwhile, the Port has previously blamed a spike in freight traffic for the jams.
Reacting to the Dover MP's argument, people took to Twitter to tell her they thought she was completely wrong:
\u2018Dover is beset by miles of traffic jams along the motorways, not because of Brexit\u2026\u2019\n\nPresumably it is just a mad coincidence they\u2019ve started happening since we left the EU \n\nGive me strengthhttps://twitter.com/natalieelphicke/status/1491452420508971008\u00a0\u2026— Liam Thorp (@Liam Thorp) 1644477661
Brexit created the red tape. It's called an external border of the EU CU & SM. That is what her government wished for and her Parliament voted for. The ignorance of some MPs about rules of international trade is astonishing. A solution is easy campaign for a softer type of Brexithttps://twitter.com/NatalieElphicke/status/1491452420508971008\u00a0\u2026— Dr Charles Tannock (@Dr Charles Tannock) 1644475375
Not a parody account. #brexit.https://twitter.com/natalieelphicke/status/1491452420508971008\u00a0\u2026— Peter Foster (@Peter Foster) 1644476272
Natalie Elphicke says the roads in Dover are clogged up, not because of Brexit but because of EU red tape\nVolunteer needed to explain to Elphicke what Brexit actually is— sue#NHSLove\ud83d\udc99\ud83d\udc99\ud83d\udc99#FBNHS (@sue#NHSLove\ud83d\udc99\ud83d\udc99\ud83d\udc99#FBNHS) 1644435031
Failed judge influencer and food bank gaslighter, Natalie Elphicke, wins the 'Brass Neck of The Day' award for this pro-Brexit outburst...pic.twitter.com/yvIm4syN0m— Brexitshambles (@Brexitshambles) 1644413442
Natalie Elphicke thinks the roads in Dover are clogged up, not because of Brexit but because of EU red tape.\n\nI think she has a fundamental misunderstanding about what Brexit is— Paul Templeman (@Paul Templeman) 1644416440
Beyond belief. Really. This MP - the MP for Dover of all places - seems genuinely not to understand that it was EU membership that got rid of the bureaucracy she complains of, and Brexit which re-instated it.https://twitter.com/NatalieElphicke/status/1491452420508971008\u00a0\u2026— Chris Grey (@Chris Grey) 1644432523
I laughed out loud when @mrjamesob played the audio of @NatalieElphicke in PMQs:\n\n"Dover is once again beset by miles of traffic jams. NOT because of Brexit..."\n\nMy head really hurts. NOT because I ran headfirst into a wall, but because the wall was so stubborn and intransigent.— Ben Stephens (@Ben Stephens) 1644411703
Natalie Elphicke - "Dover is once again beset by miles of traffic jams.... not because of brexit, but because of Brussels bureaucracy & red tape"\n\nCheers, Natalie, I really needed a good belly laugh. \n\n#PMQspic.twitter.com/iqzp8vtdJF— Haggis_UK \ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7 \ud83c\uddea\ud83c\uddfa (@Haggis_UK \ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7 \ud83c\uddea\ud83c\uddfa) 1644415187
Elphicke told indy100: “As the most popular route to the continent, Dover has had traffic queues long before the EU referendum. In 2016, there were three days of tailbacks to Dover with 250,000 people caught up in the gridlock.
“In 2015 a ‘temporary’ new system, the Dover TAP, was brought in. It has been activated hundreds of times, before and after Britain left the EU. The highest TAP year was 2017 - which was before Brexit.
“As a major port area, we trade with France and the rest of the EU successfully every day. We just need to make sure that Brussels Bureaucrats don’t undermine that with their unnecessary red tape, and that we invest in the Dover road network too.”
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