Brexit should mean leaving the Eurovision Song Contest, MP claims

Supporters wave the flags of Europe at the Eurovision Song Contest. Photograph: Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP/Getty Images. - Credit: AFP/Getty Images

Brexit should mean Britain also leaves the Eurovision Song Contest, a Brexiteer today told the Commons.

Michael Fabricant claimed that he was in ‘dismay’ that Brexit doesn’t include the UK leaving the Eurovision Song Contest.

The comments are a u-turn on his comments in 2016 when Fabricant hit out at ‘remoaners’ for ‘fallacious’ comments that suggested Brexit meant leaving European institutions such as Europol, Erasmus and the infamous song contest.

Today’s comments – which attracted a number of groans in the chamber – were directed at the Culture Secretary Matthew Hancock.

Hancock rejected Fabricant’s idea saying that the UK entry had his full support.

‘A principle I try to apply to my life, we should apply to the Eurovision Song Contest – which is, whenever something goes wrong, we should try, try and try again, and maybe eventually we’ll get there.’

Best for Britain’s Paul Butters said that it was a sign that the Leave camp were getting ‘desperate’. He said: ‘Mr Fabricant might be walking on sunshine, but this seems to be the Brexiteers’ Waterloo.’

Eurovision is the longest-running annual televised music competition having started in 1956. In recent years the programme has attracted an audience of over 200 million.

Isn’t it time Fabricant stopped talking our country down and got behind our efforts…?

• MORE: Why don’t we win Eurovision any more?

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