Can we Afford to Stay in the European Union?
The European Union costs us £65 billion gross every year.
That's about £1,000 each every year for every man, woman and child in the UK. And it increases every year.
In 2008 EU costs included:
• £28 billion extra costs for business to comply with EU regulations,
• £17 billion of additional food costs resulting from the Common Agricultural Policy
• £3.3 billion - the value of the catch lost when the Common Fisheries Policy let other countries fish in our territorial waters
• £14.6 billion gross paid into the EU budget and other EU funds. What we get back goes on EU projects we don’t need.
Deep Cuts in Public Spending are Inevitable
To get us out of the present economic mess, everyone (except Gordon Brown) knows that we need drastic cuts in public spending. The level and quality of public services is bound to suffer, whatever the politicians say.
£65 billion each year is a lot of money. If we leave the EU, we won’t have to pay for its corrupt and bloated bureaucracy. We won’t have to pay the costs that EU over-regulation imposes on British businesses. We won’t have to pay over the odds for our food, to meet the demands of the EU’s ludicrous Common Agricultural Policy.
Wouldn’t that make a lot more sense than struggling on in so-called “partnership” with a bunch of countries which are determined on “ever-closer union” – the creation of a single country called Europe? A country of which Britain would be just a province? If we don’t like the destination, why stay on for the journey? Particularly when it costs us a fortune we can no longer afford.
We Need a Referendum on leaving the EU
More and more people are realising that the EU does not benefit us, it costs us a fortune, and we would be better off without it. If a referendum were held, the British people would vote to leave.
More Jobs, More Trade when we’ve Left the EU
The politicians’ claim that leaving the EU will cost us jobs and trade is false.
- Freeing Britain from costly EU red tape will get Britain out of recession and back to work.
- If we stop paying billions of pounds to the EU, we could cut taxes and boost our economy.
The single market and the euro have failed to boost EU trade, jobs and growth, according to a devastating report on the EU from an official French think-tank
We could have a free trade agreement with the EU. We buy more from them than they buy from us –over £3bn more every month.
The common claim that 3 million British jobs depend on our membership is false – it assumes that our trade with Europe would cease altogether if we left, which is nonsense.
Trade barriers have come down across the world. We have the fifth or sixth largest economy in the world - not much smaller than China's. We have traded worldwide with great success for centuries. We don't need the EU to help us trade.
The EU Commission itself has estimated that EU regulation costs businesses 600 billion Euros a year, while benefits from the free market are only 180 billion Euros. These costs handicap British businesses in creating jobs.
Three quarters of our overseas investment is outside Europe. British businessmen may talk about Europe, but they invest their money where they see growth and profit - outside the EU.
We can leave the EU. We must leave the EU.
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