Pensioner branded bigot by Gordon Brown for raising issue of immigration reveals she’s backing Leave
Gillian Duffy, from Rochdale, says 'we should be managing our own laws' as Thursday's crunch referendum approaches
THE Rochdale pensioner branded a “bigoted woman” by Gordon Brown for expressing concerns about immigration is backing Brexit.
Gillian Duffy’s encounter with the former PM days before the 2010 sealed Labour’s fate at the polls, and revealed their contempt for working class voters.
In damning article, the 71 year old said she does not know anyone that wants to stay in Europe and believes “we should be managing our own laws, managing our own borders and vetting people properly.”
Mrs Duffy said last night: “If we leave the EU, we will take our country back and start looking after the people who are here now.”
She pleads with David Cameron to “use the money people say they will save from leaving Europe to sort out the NHS and get things going again for this country.”
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Writing in the Daily Mirror, Mrs Duffy added: “We can’t depend on Europe to sort us out – they won’t.
“We need to reclaim Great Britain and look after ourselves.”
“We need to get the country running right and to do that we need to be independent, we don’t need other people making decisions for us.”
Despite the government scaremongering, Mrs Duffy said: “I don’t think trade will be affected if we leave.”
“The British high street is filled with foreign stores – Aldi & Lidl.
“If we leave will they stop trading with us?”
In a call that will delight the Leave campaign, she said: “We don’t need to be in Europe – it is just a nuisance.
“We need to stand alone and look after ourselves.”
Gordon Brown claimed that he was “mortified” after being caught on microphone describing the pensioner as “just some bigoted woman” in May 2010.
As he got into his car after a campaign stop in Mrs Duffy’s hometown, the then PM was still wearing a broadcast microphone and was heard to say “that was a disaster”.
Mrs Duffy, a widow who has a daughter and two grandchildren, is a lifelong Labour voter.
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