John Oliver has a message for his homeland: do not leave the European Union.  This Thursday, Britain will hold a referendum on whether it should remain in the European Union or leave it. As the comedian and host of Last Week Tonight points out, the issue has received little attention in the US, with the exception of financial news that has repeatedly raised concerns about the effect of a Brexit – British exit – on the global economy.  “Here is how I feel about the EU: it is a complicated, bureaucratic, ambitious, overbearing, inspirational and consistently irritating institution, and Britain would be absolutely crazy to leave it especially because, if it stays, it can reap all the benefits while still being a total dick about everything,” Oliver said on Sunday night’s show. “And that is the British way.”  Related: Boris Johnson dismisses Bank of England's Brexit warning  It’s not the first time Oliver has tackled financial news. He recently made headlines when he bought and forgave $15m worth of medical debt. This week, while also taking on US gun control regulation, or the lack thereof, he took British politicians to task over their support of Brexit while dismissing warnings from experts at the Bank of England, International Monetary Fund and PricewaterhouseCoopers, all of whom said leaving European Union would have a negative effect on the UK’s GDP.  “Fuck these eggheads with their studies and degrees, I get my economic forecast from clever Otis, the GDP predicting horse,” Oliver joked.  One of the main issues at the heart of the Brexit vote is immigration and, similarly to the US, the rhetoric around the issue has grown increasingly “toxic”.  “Ukip [UK Independence Party] argued that a Brexit would enable the UK to significantly reduce immigration, preventing both EU citizens from taking British jobs and non-EU citizens from sneaking in to commit terror attacks. And they have not been subtle in their campaign,” said Oliver. “It is hard for me to overstate to you how poisonous things have become in England. Just this week, MP Jo Cox was killed in the street, and the man charged for it gave his name in court as, ‘Death to traitors, freedom for Britain’. And in that cauldron, people are being asked to make a major political decision.”  Leaving the EU would not exactly result in the UK having a complete control of its borders, said Oliver, pointing that his homeland might still have to agree to some of the EU’s regulations if it wants to trade with it. As such, it’s not a Brexit as it is “Bratus quo” or a “conscious unBroupling”.  Related: JK Rowling condemns 'ugly' rhetoric of EU referendum campaign  “The EU is not perfect: it’s large, confounding, and relentless bureaucratic. Think of it like Gerard Depardieu: it’s an unwieldy European body that’s a source of great bewilderment. But Britain leaving it would be a huge destabilizing decision, so we would expect the Brexit camp to have some pretty solid arguments. Unfortunately, many of them are bullshit,” said Oliver.  “To recap: immigration policy may not change, hysteria over regulation is a red herring, the cost of membership is reasonable, and the economic benefits of staying appear to outweigh the cost, and yet, polls suggest my homeland is on the edge of doing something absolutely insane,” explained Oliver.  Instead of leaving the European Union, Oliver suggested the British people sing out their hatred of the EU.  “To the people of the UK, I say this: if you need your hatred of the EU itch scratched, I understand, but please don’t vote for a Brexit on Thursday. I have a better solution.”  We are the United Kingdom,  you can eat our spotted dicks!  That being said we’re not going to leave you,  turns out we need you  It feels good to tell you this!
Host of HBO’s Last Week Tonight takes British politicians to task for dismissing economic warnings about what could happen if the UK does decide to leave