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Quick Brexit facts for busy people
From reliable, official sources
SOUND-BITE FACTS   -   EU REFERENDUM NEWS..... APRIL 2016

Former Minister John Redwood MP makes appeal to Media
 ‘THE EU IS NOT JUST SOME TRADE ARRANGEMENT’
MP's strong appeal to Media to challenge Remain lies
  • “The first lie is we will lose our trade when we leave. 165 countries around the world trade successfully with the EU without being members.”
  • “The second lie is the EU is just some trade arrangement.”
  • Redwood suggests the media must ask Remain about the EU becoming one country, huge tax powers, EU army and foreign policy, the larger budget, the Eurozone crisis, mass free movement of low paid workers keeping wages down, and "imposing laws on us that have little or nothing to do with buying goods and services".
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, YOUR MAJESTY"
90 Glorious Years, 64 Years As Our Sovereign
Elizabeth II, Dei Gratia Britanniarum Regnorumque Suorum Ceterorum Regina, Consortionis Populorum Princeps, Fidei Defensor.
Head of the Commonwealth of 53 nations (representing ¼ of the World's population), Queen of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Grenada, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
21 Apr 2016
OTHER NEWS
We produced some great news items in the last few months -
EU Referendum News - Researched Facts, not Fiction.
Suggestions for more facts? Other comments? See bottom of page.
 
THE BIGGEST FACT OF THEM ALL - YOU SHOULD READ THIS
IF YOU KNOW THE FACTS, YOU CAN DECIDE
SO WHY IS NO-ONE TELLING VOTERS WHAT 'REMAIN' WILL LOOK LIKE?
  • The EU mutates and grows every year. Often in a significant ways. Generally unreported on British TV.
  • 19 of the 28 countries are now in the Eurozone. They share the common currency: the Euro.
  • All other members except UK and Denmark must join in the end – Treaty rules.
  • The Eurozone is in crisis and the EU's only solution is economic and political union – one state.
  • This was always the intention of the EU's founders from the beginning - now it's coming.
  • Last year the EU set out a plan, described in many official documents, to achieve it.
  • The EU plans to merge all 19 Eurozone countries’ economies and policies by 2025 – only 9 years away.
So by 2025, 19 Eurozone nations will effectively become one country.
You didn't know this? That's because British TV almost never reports such things.
  • Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, the Netherlands, etc will cease to exist as sovereign, self-governing countries.
  • This is fact. States which can't control their budgets, their banks, their taxes, their borrowing, their benefits, their social policies, their borders, and their foreign policy, obviously cannot be considered to be sovereign nations.
  • The UK will then be on the outside of everything. The German-dominated 'United States of Europe' will reign, and yet we'll still be expected to pay ever-growing contributions.
  • The British people will feel like extras, having to pay to appear in someone else’s foreign movie.
Sounds alarmist?  This future is fully-documented by the EU.
Mr Cameron knows this – why isn’t he telling you what you’re voting for?
For the EU, ‘One Direction’ means one country.
A Financial and Political Union of all member states:
A ‘United States of Europe’.
In the end the UK will be forced to join this political and financial union.
When that happens the Pound will go, your taxes, benefits and laws will come from an unelected government in Brussels (many do already), your armed forces will be under foreign Generals, you’ll have the EU anthem and fly the EU flag, and an EU President will inevitably become Head of State instead of your Queen.
Mr Cameron can say what he likes about our supposed 'special status', or our supposed opt-outs from 'ever closer union', Schengen, and the Eurozone. It won't make any difference. The EU has a long history of ignoring agreements and referendum votes, and of taking ever more power. In the end we'll have to join.
IMPORTANT : Only vote to Remain if the future above is what you want.
[Sources: There are hundreds of EU documents about this. Possibly the most important recent one is the EU "5 Presidents’ Report" from last year: https://ec.europa.eu/priorities/publications/five-presidents-report-completing-europes-economic-and-monetary-union_en | Other links: http://ec.europa.eu/priorities/deeper-and-fairer-economic-and-monetary-union_en | On EU powers and democracy: http://facts4eu.org/facts/laws_and_democracy.htm]
 
MR CAMERON’S NEW BEST FRIEND, BRENDAN BARBER
Ex-TUC boss Barber – Some useful facts for you.
Judge his credibility for yourselves, from when he was TUC boss :-
  1. "Delay in joining the Euro is costing jobs and investment”
  2. “Manufacturing needs the stability and certainty that the Euro will bring"
  3. “The Prime Minister is absolutely right to make the case for migrant workers”
  4. TUC annual salary: £100,000, plus £100,000 pay-off, plus pension.
  5. Now Chairman of ACAS, Board Member of Board of Banking Standards, Board Member of Transport for London, Board Member of Council of City University, Visiting Fellow at Said Business School, Oxford University, Visiting Fellow at Nuffield College, Oxford.
Everyone now agrees that the Eurozone is in crisis.
All now agree that if we’d joined the Euro when Mr Barber was such a powerful advocate for it, it would have been a disaster – for UK workers, jobs, wages, and the economy.
Brendan Barber: Another rich new Cameron friend who was “Wrong then, wrong now”
[Sources: The TUC : https://www.tuc.org.uk/international-issues/migration/pm-right-welcome-migration and https://www.tuc.org.uk/international-issues/euro-welcome-%E2%80%98project-purpose | The BBC : http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-19584508 | The Guardian: http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2003/sep/09/uk.euro ]
 
58% OF UK FARMERS BACK LEAVE, SAYS NEW SURVEY BY FARMERS WEEKLY
58% OF FARMERS BACK LEAVE, SAYS NEW FARMERS WEEKLY SURVEY
  • Farmers Union bosses back Remain, actual farmers say different
  • 58% of farmers say they’ll vote to leave the EU
  • Only 31% are for Remain and 11% are undecided
  • Country Land & Business Association says government must start preparing Brexit plan
It seems our farmers haven't fallen for the scare stories from the Remain camp that subsidies will be withdrawn on Brexit.
No Leave campaigns have ever suggested that existing subsidies would be affected in the event of a leave vote.
The current so-called "EU farm subsidies" are of course simply from money the UK gave to the EU, in order for them to put it through their expensive admin systems and then send it back dressed as 'EU subsidies'.
[Sources: Farmers Weekly 29 April 2016 - http://www.fwi.co.uk/news/exclusive-survey-reveals-farmers-back-eu-exit.htm ]
 
HOME SECRETARY’S REAL VIEWS ON EU IMMIGRATION
Read what Theresa May really thinks about the EU and immigration.
In her speech to the Tory Party Conference just 6 months ago, Mrs May said :-
  1. “The numbers coming from Europe are unsustainable.”
  2. “We need to build 210,000 new homes every year to deal with rising demand.”
  3. “We need to find 900,000 new school places by 2024.”
  4. “Thousands of [our] people forced out of the labour market, still unable to find a job.”
  5. “Workers coming to the UK can claim over £10,000 on top of their salary in benefits.”
  6. “Schengen means they can make their way to the British border at Calais, without checks.”
  7. “Many will get EU citizenship and the free movement rights that come with it.”
  8. “There's no case in the national interest for immigration of the scale we have experienced over the last decade.”
Nothing has changed since then except that numbers keep growing. EU immigrants continue to arrive daily and Mrs May as Home Secretary can do nothing to stop them.
Mrs May : Leaver by belief, Remainer by career choice
Fact: UK can’t control mass immigration from EU while staying a member of the EU.
[Sources: Full speech on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoiuCPxHk1E | The Independent : http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/theresa-may-s-speech-to-the-conservative-party-conference-in-full-a6681901.html ]
 
TWO SIMPLE QUESTIONS TO MESSRS CAMERON & OSBORNE, PRESIDENT OBAMA, COUNTRY LEADERS, INTERNATIONAL BANKERS, GLOBAL CORPORATIONS, TONY BLAIR, ALMOST ALL 'ELITE' NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL BODIES, etc
  1. You’re told on a daily basis that ‘the EU is vital for our economy’.
  2. Hundreds of economists have written thousands of pages proving the UK will collapse if you vote Leave.
  3. So you should be able to see the effect on growth since we joined in 1973. We can’t, can you?
  4. Finally, the ‘Single Market’ which Mr Cameron and all Remainers talk about constantly: The Single European Act was adopted in 1986 and still isn’t working as intended.
The EU Commissioner’s Report of 2013 on the Single Market summarised things:
“European citizens and companies are still suffering the consequences of an unprecedented series of crises. Unemployment is high, businesses face difficulties accessing funding, and populism is on the rise across Europe.”
We only disagree with one word - ‘populism’.
The word the EU Commissioner should have used was ‘democracy’.
The rich and powerful are telling us to remain. Your vote is powerful - please use it.
[Sources: We researched many papers for the above fact-box. Here are just a few of them. Office of National Statistics quarterly year-on-year growth : http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20160105160709/http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/site-information/using-the-website/time-series/index.html#1 | EU Commission http://ec.europa.eu/growth/single-market/index_en.htm | Financial Times http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/101cf670-57fb-11db-be9f-0000779e2340.html | HM Gov’t https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/227069/2901084_SingleMarket_acc.pdf | Deutsche Bank 2013 Report | Bertelsmann Stiftung Report https://www.bertelsmann-stiftung.de/fileadmin/files/BSt/Publikationen/GrauePublikationen/Policy-Brief-Binnenmarkt-en_NW_02_2014.pdf | Ruth Lea (ex-Treasury and ex-ITN Economics Editor) analysis http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/2949447/Personal-view-Its-official.-The-Single-Market-costs-outweigh-the-benefits.html ]
Contributing Editors: DC and TAC
 
HOME SECRETARY THERESA MAY SAYS : 'UK SHOULD LEAVE EUROPE’S HUMAN RIGHTS COURT’ (ECHR)
The Home Secretary said yesterday (25 April) the ECHR has made Britain “less secure”, and suggests we need more reforms of EU.
  1. Pro-Remain Mrs May calls for quitting Europe’s Human Rights Court (ECHR)
  2. She says ECHR stops UK deportation of terrorists and hate preachers
  3. However the UK can’t leave the ECHR – it’s an EU Treaty obligation
Either Mrs May didn’t know this (unlikely) or she was misleading the public in her speech.
On other subjects in the speech, “Mrs May was clear that it was not possible to limit the numbers of immigrants who come here from the rest of the EU” says BBC Political Editor Laura Kuenssberg.
Fact: UK can’t quit Europe’s human rights laws while staying a member of the EU.
Fact: UK can’t control mass immigration from EU while staying a member of the EU.
[Sources: BBC website 25/04/2016 | Mrs May's speech 25 Apr 2016 | EU Lisbon Treaty: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:12007L/TXT ]
 
EU COMMISSION APPROVES 'NO VISAS' FOR 45m UKRAINIANS, CONTINUES HUGE SPENDING THERE
Last week the EU Commission approved visa-free access arrangements for 44.8 million Ukrainians. Meanwhile it continues to spend part of the UK’s £10 billion / year donation to the EU on projects in non-EU Ukraine. It even had a project in Crimea one year after Russian invasion.
  1. 4 examples from 250+ projects in non-EU Ukraine of EU’s use of our money:-
  2. ‘To promote sustainable socio-economic development at local level by strengthening participatory governance and encouraging community-based initiatives throughout Ukraine’ (€ 16,850,000)
  3. ‘Crimean Tourism Diversification and Support Project’ (€ 3,363,500)
  4. ‘Reduction of negative social effects caused by migration on elderly people’ (€ 520,000)
  5. ‘Cinema discussion clubs for young people about human rights’ (€ 17,728)
These are a few examples amongst over 250 projects. In each case the EU funded 80-100% of the money.
Note that the Crimea was invaded and annexed by Russia in March 2014, and yet the project continued until Feb 2015. It’s the Russians who are now benefiting from the €3.4 million given for that ‘project’.
(See also our ‘EU Enlargement’ page)
[Sources: UN Population Data - http://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/Download/Standard/Population/ | EU Commission Report 21 April 2016 - http://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/ukraine/press_corner/all_news/news/2016/2016_04_21_02_en.htm | EU ‘External Action Service’ - http://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/ukraine/projects/overview/index_en.htm ]
 
WHAT IS THE PROPOSED EU-US TRADE DEAL, KNOWN AS TTIP?
How important is it to the UK? Is it connected with Obama’s visit to UK?
  1. Finally, 40 years after the UK joined, the EU started trade talks with the USA.
  2. The 13th and latest round starts tomorrow, 25 June 2016.
  3. So, no deal yet, and widespread opposition growing in UK and across EU peoples.
  4. In 2013 Mr Cameron announced it “could be worth £10 billion to the UK”.
  5. However the UK’s GDP (national income) was £1,808 billion in 2015.
  6. So, the US deal would give a one-time boost of only 0.6% to our economy if it worked.
  7. The UK’s average annual growth rate is 2.5% over the last 60 years.
  8. This means the one-off boost from TTIP would equate to less than 3mths of normal growth.
  9. TUC is in ‘outright opposition’ as are many serious commentators and some EU member states.
  10. TUC : 'primary purpose of TTIP is to extend US corporate investor rights', NHS threatened with huge compensation claims if UK policies change, jobs & wages, and workers’ rights also under threat.
You'll hear more about this 'TTIP' deal in the next 8 weeks, so we'll be producing a quick and simple guide in everyday language.
(See also our ‘Trade & the Economy’ page)
[Sources: EU Commission: http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/events/index.cfm?id=1479 | No.10 Press release : https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-seeks-launch-of-trade-deal-to-turbo-charge-the-transatlantic-economy | Organisation of American States : http://www.sice.oas.org/tpd/USA_EU/USA_EU_e.ASP | TUC Briefing :https://www.tuc.org.uk/international-issues/tuc-briefing-transatlantic-trade-and-investment-partnership-ttip | GDP: ONS data | GDP growth rates: http://www.tradingeconomics.com/united-kingdom/gdp-growth-annual ]
Contributing Editors: DC and TAC
 
GERMAN MILITARY POWER GROWS IN EU
WITH 'FRIENDLY COLLABORATION' WITH DUTCH
Germany takes over Dutch military forces
  1. 2014: The German Rapid Forces Division took over the 11th Airmobile Brigade of the Netherlands.
  2. 2015: The German 1st Panzer Division took over the Dutch 43rd Mechanised Brigade.
  3. April 2016: Germany and Netherlands agree to combine naval forces.
"This collaboration shows the extraordinary depth of the partnership with the Netherlands… Dutch and Germans will live, work, train and exercise together in the future. They become a fused entity",
said German Defence Minister, Ursula von der Leyen, April 2016.
"This is the path to a European Defence Union," she added.
Meanwhile, the UK Government continues to deny the inevitable integrationist march
of all EU countries’ military forces into a combined EU force.
 
PRESIDENT OBAMA : UK ‘TO BACK OF QUEUE’ FOR TRADE DEAL ON BREXIT
We’re sure the President didn’t mean to mislead, so here are the facts:-
  • The UK exported £47.5 billion to USA in 2014 – without a trade deal. Our exports have grown 5% per year since 1998.
  • The EU hasn’t managed a US trade deal since 1958 – there isn’t one.
  • Current attempt (TTIP) ‘frozen up’ – only 15% of Americans and 17% of Germans support deal.
  • Trade deals are negotiated concurrently – UK is doing fine without waiting for EU deal which may never come.
  • The US has 20 free trade deals with individual countries – the UK is bigger than all of them.
President Obama's 'back of the queue' comment means no change.
The UK is doing fine exporting to the US without a free trade deal.
[Sources: ONS export data set 8 April 2016 https://www.ons.gov.uk/ | YouGov poll for Bertelsmann Siftung 21 Apr 2016: https://www.bertelsmann-stiftung.de/fileadmin/files/BSt/Publikationen/GrauePublikationen/NW_Attitudes_global_trade_and_TTIP.pdf ]
 
SHOULD WE LISTEN TO ADVICE FROM PRESIDENT OBAMA ON BREXIT ?
Some facts on the USA’s own actions towards supranational bodies like the EU
  1. No American President has agreed to signed up to the International Criminal Court that holds military and political leaders to a uniform global standard of justice.
  2. Even under a Democrat President like Mr Obama, the USA won’t sign up to many aspects of International Human rights legislation including the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
  3. The US won’t sign up to the Mine Ban Treaty, the Convention on Cluster Munitions, and the Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Given the attitude of the US to these supranational bodies, should British voters really take any notice of Mr Obama imploring us to stay in the EU?
Should we continue to accept a degree of subjugation that he and his own citizens would never for one moment contemplate accepting ?
(For our open letter to Mr Obama, see below.)
[Sources: Global Policy ICC: https://www.globalpolicy.org/international-justice/the-international-criminal-court/us-opposition-to-the-icc.html | Mine Ban Treaty: http://www.icbl.org/en-gb/the-treaty/treaty-status.aspx | Cluster Munitions Convention: http://www.clusterconvention.org/the-convention/convention-status/ | Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities: http://www.un.org/disabilities/convention/signature.shtml ]
 
"DEAR PRESIDENT OBAMA" - Open letter to the US President on his visit here
Dear President Obama,
A warm welcome to the EU's North-Western District, formerly known as the United Kingdom. (Commonly known as 'England' to many of your fellow-countrymen.)
We look forward to hearing your views on our EU membership, to see how it compares with your membership of the 'Union of North and Central America' (UNCA).
We’d thought the USA was an independent country but somehow we’d missed the fact you joined UNCA 40 years ago. Here's what we understand about it...
  • 'Union of North and Central America' (UNCA): The Union of Mexico, Cuba, Canada, the USA, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico.
  • UNCA Legislature: Havana (also 2 days per month in Guatemala City). Your Congress must ratify UNCA laws and Directives.  UNCA Central Bank: Mexico City.  UNCA Court of Human Rights: Edmonton, Canada.  UNCA official language: Mexican.  UNCA currency: Peso.
  • UNCA in advanced membership negotiations with Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, Aruba, Guyana, Surinam, Turks & Caicos Islands.
  • July 2015: Mexican President unilaterally threw open UNCA’s doors to Colombians, Venezuelans, Surinamians and Haitians with hashtag “#RefugeesWelcome”. They should be with you soon.
Mr President, it seems that the USA has agreed:
  1. Free movement of people across all UNCA member states, equal rights as for US citizens.
  2. Obviously your southern border with Mexico allows all UNCA citizens to cross into the USA.
  3. More than 50% of US laws now made in UNCA Capital, Havana.
  4. Only UNCA Commission (unelected) can propose new laws. UNCA Court of Justice in Panama City has supremacy over US Supreme Court.
  5. US citizens can immediately be deported under the UNCA Arrest Warrant system, to stand trial in member countries like El Salvador.
  6. USA now has 20% Sales Tax. US Treasury Secretary must submit annual budget to Havana for approval before Congress sees it.
  7. US car industry must conform to UNCA policies, energy costs increase by 20%.
  8. USA has no veto over major UNCA policy decisions. You must fly to Havana every 2-3 weeks for UNCA meetings, to be outvoted every time.
  9. Motherhood and Apple Pie now subject to UNCA specifications formulated in Guatamala and subject to inspections by unelected UNCA Commissioners.
  10. Oh yes, and you pay $200 billion per year for the benefits of UNCA membership.
Mr President, we're very much looking forward to hearing what you think about the UK's membership of our equivalent body to UNCA - the EU.
Yours sincerely,
America's long-standing friends,
The British People
[Sources: 'UNCA' doesn't exist of course. Can you imagine the American people agreeing to such a thing?]
 
THE SPANISH AND POLES WANT US TO STAY, THE FRENCH AREN'T SO SURE
New poll by TNS Sofres shows the French are 6 times more likely to want us out.
  • Our nearest neighbours are 6 times keener than Spanish and Poles for us to leave the EU.
  • 41% of French say they’d prefer Britain to leave.
  • British ex-pats in Spain can relax, they’re wanted.
    Only 7% of Spaniards want us to leave the EU.
  • Brits in France have always known where they stood with the French...
  • The 20 April poll by TNS Sofres asked the people of 4 countries “Personally would you prefer the UK to Remain or Leave?”
For ex-pats: The Venice Convention stipulates that acquired rights in international agreements remain when the agreements stop. The UK will not expel French, Spanish and other EU nationalities if we leave, and neither will we stop the rights they already have to things like healthcare. Our EU partners will be the same.
[Sources: TNS Sofres : http://www.tns-sofres.com/publications/brexit-points-de-vue-compares-uk-fr-de-es-pl# ]
 
“WE’RE OUTSIDE SCHENGEN, SO WE CONTROL OUR BORDERS” – IS MR CAMERON RIGHT?
The PM says that being outside the Schengen area means we control our borders. Here we debunk this and explain the reality in simple terms.
  1. The UK is not in the ‘passport-free’ Schengen area. EU passports must be presented at the UK’s borders.
  2. But if someone has an EU passport, the UK can’t stop them entering.
  3. All EU citizens have the right of entry into the UK, to live and work, by showing their passport.
  4. That’s what ‘free movement’ is, and it’s compulsory for all EU members, including the UK.
  5. Being outside the Schengen area makes no difference – all can come.
The only way to control free movement of millions of EU migrants into the UK is to leave the EU.
These are the simple EU facts and they are uncontested.
[Source: EU Lisbon Treaty]
 
'BREXIT' WON'T HURT OUR TRADE WITH UK: GLOBAL CFOS
Brexit won't affect our trade with the UK, says survey of Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) of world's biggest companies.
  1. Nearly 73% said Brexit would mean 'no change' or 'slightly more likely to trade' with UK
  2. Only 2.1% said they were 'significantly less likely' to trade with the UK in the event of Brexit
  3. The results come from the latest annual CNBC Global CFO Council survey
This annual CNBC survey of the finance directors of the world's largest firms was one which could not be influenced by phone calls from Downing Street.
[Source: CNBC Global CFO Council Annual Survey 2016]
 
DARK VISION OF EU'S FUTURE By EU Commission President Juncker
The EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker made extraordinary admissions to the Council of Europe yesterday.
  1. “We are interfering in too many domains of [people's] private lives where member states are better placed to take action.”
  2. “We are no longer respected.”
  3. “We will eventually end up with the ruins of this ideal.”
  4. On the Dutch Referendum rejecting the EU-Ukraine deal: “Ukraine and Georgia have received the positive opinion of the Commission and I hope the European Parliament and the Council will step in in the coming weeks.”
President Juncker's speech and Q&A session was made to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg yesterday. You can listen to the full sppech and Q&A using the links in 'Sources' below.
Even the EU Commission President is worried.
Vote Leave for a safer and more reliable future.
[Source: European Commission AV website: http://ec.europa.eu/avservices/video/player.cfm?sitelang=en&ref=I120047]
 
TREASURY REPORT :   'WILL I REALLY LOSE £4,300 PER YEAR?' - NO YOU WON'T
We explain Mr Osborne’s extraordinary claims in normal language.

We've read his 202 page Treasury report so you don't have to. Below we give a summary in a way that most normal people like us would understand things.
  1. Mr Osborne claims you’ll lose £4,300 per year per household by 2030.
  2. Per person that’s £1,800, but this sounds less so he doesn’t mention that.
  3. The £4,300 figure is 'GDP per household'. This is NOT 'income per household'.
  4. No-one uses 'GDP per household' - not even the Treasury before now. GDP is a measure of national income - that's nothing like personal income.
  5. Mr Osborne's claims are based on predictions for 2030 – no-one in the financial world forecasts that far in advance. (Even the Treasury's latest 6-month forecasts were wrong by £27 billion.)
  6. Critically, Mr Osborne doesn't admit that national income will still rise if we leave, even with his own figures.
  7. He's really saying you'll still be better off in 2030 with Brexit, but in his view not as much.
  8. The report was produced by Treasury civil servants. The public used to rely on their impartiality. All that has changed and the Head of the Civil Service has confirmed that they're backing the Government case.
  9. Mr Osborne's claims in the Treasury Report are based on hundreds of assumptions which favour the Remain case. And the Report even assumes immigration will be an extra 3m people - way above the Government's target of 'tens of thousands per year'.
  10. Even with his unusual calculations, his apocalyptic version of Brexit still shows :
National income growth per person very similar to remaining in the EU. (See chart.)
So, even if you don't believe anyone these days (no reason you should), at least you now know that even with Mr Osborne's own 15 year forecasts your income won't fall by £4,300 per household if you vote to leave the EU.
It's your choice. We think the British Public know when they can smell a rat.
We'll leave the last word to the BBC's Political Editor, Laura Kuenssberg, yesterday:
"If Osborne believes all that,
did he REALLY mean it when he said he'd be ready to leave EU
if UK didn't get renegotiation?"
Note to Editors: We can provide details of the calculations, and source material from the Treasury Report and the IMF, to back our chart and assertions.
[Sources: Treasury website: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-treasury | Treasury report: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hm-treasury-analysis-the-long-term-economic-impact-of-eu-membership-and-the-alternatives | IMF (approved by Mr Osborne last week) World Economic Outlook Database, April 2016 |
 
NO END IN SIGHT FOR TAMPON TAX, Says Former Minister
Rt Hon John Redwood MP yesterday launched an attack on the latest VAT direction from the EU.
  1. “The UK Parliament cannot abolish the tampon tax.”
  2. “The UK government lost a court case in the EU Court of Justice. We have been ordered to raise the rate to 20%, making it much dearer to insulate our homes or fit heat pumps.”
  3. “We cannot take VAT off domestic fuel though that would ease pressures on family budgets and cut fuel poverty.”
  4. “The main thrust of the Commission’s Action Plan for VAT is more centralisation.”
  5. “Where are the results of the UK’s renegotiation?”
  6. “Why doesn’t the EU simply change the law to allow us to alter our VAT rates?”
The EU Commission’s new ‘Action Plan for VAT’ was launched on 07 April, with no mention in the British media. Click here for John Redwood’s full article.
The EU Continues To Control Our Everyday Lives - Vote Leave
[Biographical note: John Redwood is a senior backbencher, former Cabinet Minister, and Vice-President of Conservatives for Britain.]
[Sources: John Redwood website: http://johnredwoodsdiary.com/2016/04/18/will-we-ever-be-able-to-abolish-vat-charges-we-do-not-like . EU Action Plan on VAT : http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/resources/documents/taxation/vat/action_plan/com_2016_148_en.pdf ]
 
TREASURY TO RELEASE 'ARMAGEDDON' REPORT TODAY
We don't have an advance copy of the Treasury's report, but some it has been leaked.

For now, we have just one question for the Treasury and for Mr Osborne:
If Brexit will be so cataclysmic, why did Mr Cameron say he'd campaign for Brexit if he didn't get his 'reforms' from the EU in January?
Those inconsequential changes made no difference so...
If the Treasury report were true,
neither Cameron nor Osborne could ever have campaigned for Brexit
and should have told us all this years ago.
It's increasingly impossible to take anything the Government says seriously.
STOP PRESS - Reactions start to come in:-
"If Osborne believes all that, did he REALLY mean it when he said he'd be ready to leave EU if UK didn't get renegotiation?" - Laura Kuenssberg, BBC Political Editor.
"He would never be allowed to produce something like this before a General Election and this is an abuse of the fair rules for a Referendum and he should be ashamed of himself." - Senior backbencher Bernard Jenkin MP, Chairman of Public Administration Select Committee, former Shadow Secretary of State for Defence, Shadow Regions Secretary, and Shadow Energy Minister.
"Few forecasts are right for 14 months, let alone 14 years. Such precision is spurious, and entirely unbelievable." - Lord Lamont, former Chancellor.
"The Prime Minister was one of the senior advisers working in the Treasury while John Major's government tried to keep this country in the EU's disastrous Exchange Rate Mechanism. The ERM destroyed jobs and caused misery for families across the country. The remainers were wrong then, and they are wrong now - people should not trust their judgement on the EU." - Rt Hon John Redwood, former Minister and senior backbencher.
As @George_Osborne must know, "The only function of economic forecasting is to make astrology look respectable." - Steve Baker MP.
Treasury website: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-treasury | Treasury report: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hm-treasury-analysis-the-long-term-economic-impact-of-eu-membership-and-the-alternatives
 
TEAR-GAS USED AGAINST RIOTERS IN CENTRAL PARIS AS MIGRANT CRISIS WORSENS
Meanwhile French Finance Minister and presidential hopeful threatens UK with ‘consequences’ if we vote for Brexit.
  1. French Finance Minister tells BBC's Andrew Marr that border controls at Calais are likely to go, despite these being a legal agreement with France and nothing to do with the EU.
  2. Meanwhile, France loses control of migrant situation in Paris. Watch video here.
  3. c. 1,000 migrants were relocated from Calais to central Paris and some of these people rioted on Thursday night.
  4. French Police forced to use tear gas to quell the violent rioters from Eritrea, Afganistan and Sudan.
NOTE: If the French give the required 2 years notice to cancel the current Calais border arrangements, the UK will put a legal obligation on Eurostar and the Channel Ferries that they can only carry passengers with the right to enter the UK, much the same as the existing arrangements in force with airlines.
This would give the problem back to the French, which is why their Interior Minister has said the arrangements will not change.
The EU remains out of control on the migrant crisis - safer to vote leave.
[Sources: Video: YouTube. French Minister on BBC Marr programme 17 April 2016. Le Parisien newspaper - http://www.leparisien.fr/paris-75/video-quatre-blesses-dans-une-rixe-entre-migrants-a-stalingrad-15-04-2016-5718951.php . ]
 
REMAINERS TELL THE YOUNG TO LECTURE THEIR GRANDPARENTS
Remain campaign sinks to new lows in patronising voters. Official Remain website set up, called 'TalkToGran.co.uk'.

The BSE (Britain Stronger in Europe) campaign urges young people to send an E-card to their grandparents, telling them to ‘Vote Remain or...'
  1. Ready-made E-cards to ‘send to Gran’ from official Remain website
  2. Messages are printed on a picture of a plate, knife and fork
  3. Reasons given, eg “Because travel’s cheaper”
Maybe some Grans would like their grandchildren to come to talk and to listen, rather than just send an E-card...
[Sources: BSE ('Britain Stronger In Europe') official website "TalkToGran" 17/04 : http://www.talktogran.co.uk/ . ]
 
TURKISH SET TO BECOME AN EU LANGUAGE AFTER MEPs VOTED ON THURSDAY
MEPs voted in the EU Parliament to approve a 14 page document about Turkey.

On the last page, the documet says they:
  1. "Welcomes the initiative ... to make Turkish an official language of the EU, and urges the parties to accelerate this process."
  2. The reference to the Turkish language was buried on the final page of the report.
  3. The MEPs approved the report by 375 votes to 133 votes, on Thursday 14 April.
[Sources: EU Parliament website. P8_TA-PROV(2016)0133 2015 Report on Turkey, European Parliament resolution of 14 April 2016 on the 2015 report on Turkey (2015/2898(RSP).]
 
YOUR COUNTRY (THE EU) CONTINUES TO MAKE DECISIONS FOR YOU
The EU’s Foreign Minister Mogherini and 7 EU Commissioners went to Tehran yesterday for 2 days of cooperation talks with Iran.

No, you didn’t elect Ms Mogherini, not any of the seven Commissioners who went with her. You weren't given the chance. However moves were agreed for:-
  1. The EU Investment Bank to start lending to Iran
  2. The EU to conduct joint nuclear research with Iran
  3. The EU to share science and technology knowledge with Iran
The EU : Making Decisions For You, So You Don't Have To
[Sources: EU Commission Statement 16/04 : http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_STATEMENT-16-1441_en.htm . ]
 
THE UK IS NO LONGER A SOVEREIGN NATION - Government report shows how Brussels controls our country
Under Referendum law, the Government was forced to issue a report yesterday, the last day before the official Referendum period starts today, 15th April 2016.

The conclusions from the report are damning, so the Government 'buried' it. We've read the 96 pages and here are the key facts for you:-
  • No Overall Control Of Our Borders: "Member States cannot impose unjustified restrictions on individuals exercising their rights of free movement."
  • UK can't stop EU migrants & families coming in: "EU law gives... all other EU nationals rights to enter, live and work in another EU Member State, as well as to their family members and their dependants."
  • Permanent Migrants: "After five years... [they] automatically acquire the right of permanent residence in that [EU] country, at which point they are no longer required to be a worker, self-employed, a jobseeker, self-sufficient or a student."
  • EU Laws Govern You: "Once an EU Directive has been agreed, all Member States have an obligation to make national laws that give it effect." "Regulations contain detailed legal rules. Once made, regulations have the force of law in the UK."
  • Charter of Fundamental Rights: "At a domestic level, where it is not possible to interpret domestic primary legislation consistently with an enforceable right, domestic courts or tribunals can disapply the offending provision in the domestic primary legislation." This is deliberate Civil Service gobbledygook for saying that EU laws and the other obligations of the 'Fundamental Rights' Charter take precedence over UK laws.
  • UK Prevented From Defending British Jobs: "EU rules prevent Member States imposing restrictions on the quantity of imports and exports of a particular item." (For example, we can't ban cheap, state-subsidised steel from EU countries breaking the rules.)
  • We could go on and on with examples from this 96 page document. It was produced by civil servants for the Government. Even though it's called 'Rights and Obligations', it focuses on rights and ignores a great number of obligations. (For example, nowhere does it mention that the Chancellor of the UK has to submit his Budgets to the EU before he announces them in Parliament. The EU knows our Budget before we do.)
  • Although it's a one-sided propaganda document to make the Government's case sound better, even the Civil Servant mandarins couldn't hide all the bad news. So the Government buried it yesterday.
    However we thought you'd like to know the facts.
If a country's laws aren't supreme, if it can't control its borders,
and if so many of its policies are decided by foreign countries,
how can that country be considered to be a Sovereign Nation?
[Sources: "Rights and obligations of European Union membership" Cabinet Office, April 2016, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rights-and-obligations-of-european-union-membership .]
 
MR CAMERON'S CLAIMS: THE FACTS OF IMMIGRATION OF EU NATIONALS INTO THE UK
In Parliament yesterday: Mr Cameron was asked by Jacob Rees Mogg MP about the Government's £9 million taxpayer-funded propaganda leaflet:

"Have we withdrawn from the [EU's] free movement of people, or is that sheet simply untrue?"
  • Mr Cameron's answer deliberately deceived the British public by talking about non-EU migrants.
  • The PM: "This is why it's important that we send information to households, so they can see the truth about what's being proposed... We've got the best of both worlds!"
  • Unfortunately for Mr Cameron, the official Government facts prove the opposite. The graph shows clearly that we can't control our borders while remaining a member of the EU.
  • EU immigration into the UK has rocketed since 2003, putting pressure on jobs, wages, housing, health services, schools, and other services.
  • The number of EU nationals officially working in the UK has risen by 365% in 12 years, from 558,000 to 2,036,000.
EU Membership forces us to accept free movement of EU nationals into the UK.
[Sources: Parliament TV coverage of PMQ's on 13 Apr 2016. ONS employment and labour market data Mar 2016. ]
 
FROM EU PARLIAMENT PRESIDENT HERR MARTIN SCHULZ:
THE UK IS TRYING TO 'ESCAPE'
In an extraordinary interview in a leading German newspaper yesterday, the EU Parliament President admitted:-
  1. "For some time now in Europe we've been on a downward path."
  2. "The EU was created as a tool for solving problems, but many people have the impression that it is part of the problem rather than the solution."
  3. He sees the danger of "implosion of the EU". He added: "If the British leave the EU, there will be demands for further escape referendums."
  4. "Escape", Herr Schulz? We never expected EU bureaucrats to admit they're running a prison camp.
NOTE: This is serious - EU bureaucrats and politicians come out with this kind of thing on a daily basis, showing how they think of us and of their role as 'the people who know what's best for us'. Unfortunately it's just never reported on the TV on BBC or Sky.
You can take the escape tunnel on 23 June if you vote to leave the EU
[Sources: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German) - http://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/europaeische-union/martin-schulz-sieht-bedrohung-durch-europafeindliche-bewegungen-14173019.html . ]
 
INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND SCAREMONGERING AGAIN
Cameron and Osborne enlist discredited IMF in discredited Project Fear
1. The UK's exit from the European Union could cause "severe regional and global damage", the International Monetary Fund has warned in its latest outlook today.

2. Should we be worried? Not if the IMF’s past performance is anything to go by.

3. The IMF lost all credibility in 2013 when it said the UK’s economic policies wouldn’t work and gave the UK the biggest growth downgrade of any developed country for 2013 and 2014.

4. In fact growth increased by three times the IMF’s forecasts in 2013 and twice their forecasts for 2014. These were errors of enormous magnitude.

5. The UK Government is one of the largest bankrollers of the IMF – our 2016 quota is $27.76 billion.

6. The Head of the IMF, Christine Lagarde was the Europhile French Finance Minister. She is currently due to stand trial before the French Court of Justice in a €400 million fraud and negligence case.

7. In 2012 Ms Lagarde famously criticised the Greeks for not paying enough tax, and days later it emerged that she pays no tax at all on her IMF income of $550,000 per year.

8. On 16 January 2016 the IMF had to ask its member countries to double their contributions – a worrying sign in an organisation controlling the finances of countries in trouble.
Project Fear - The Attempted Intimidation Of The British People Grows...
[Sources: BBC News : http://www.bbc.com/news/business-36024492. IMF Factsheet 16 Jan 2016 : https://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/facts/quotas.htm . IMF Quota Subscriptions List 2016 : www.imf.org/external/np/exr/facts/pdf/quotas.pdf . The Guardian : http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/apr/16/imf-pressure-george-osborne-cuts . World Bank : http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.KD.ZG . Daily Telegraph : http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/9298501/Christine-Lagarde-attack-on-Greece-backfires-as-she-pays-no-tax.html . ]
 
RMT UNION COMES OUT IN FAVOUR OF LEAVE
Britain's Largest Specialist Transport Union, covering the Channel Tunnel trains, Channel ferries, domestic trains and the underground, says:
1. 'We will be advising members to vote to leave the EU in the forthcoming referendum.'

2. They say: "It’s a myth that the EU is in favour of workers. In fact the EU is developing a new policy framework to attack trade union rights, collective bargaining, job protections and wages."

3. RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said: "RMT is proud to stand up for the tradition of progressive and socialist opposition to the European Union, an organisation wedded to privatisation, austerity and attacking democracy. It would be frankly ludicrous for a union like ours to support staying in a bosses club...".

4. The RMT leadership gave six reasons for their decision, including EU attacks on jobs and conditions, decimation of UK seafaring workers, EU attacks on workers' rights, imposition of austerity and privatization on member states, EU promoting big business rights at the expense protections for workers including our NHS, and the fact we have less and less say over our laws.
The EU doesn't deliver for workers
[Sources: RMT website https://www.rmt.org.uk/news/rmt-sets-out-six-key-reasons-for-leaving-the-eu/.]
 
UK SCIENCE SUFFERS UNDER EU DIRECTIVES
EU slows medical research for new cures:
1. In 2001, the EU issued a ‘Medical Research Directive’, followed by more in 2004, 2012 and 2014.

2. UK Clinical Trials fell dramatically
In the first five years, the UK’s global share of patients in trials fell by two-thirds. In the next five years the number of clinical trials in the UK fell by a further 22%.

3. Cancer Professor says EU rules and regulations are holding back cancer trials which could discover new cures or treatments : “the EU clinical trials directive meant academic led studies carried out in Britain became illegal.”

4. Independent Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology says the EU’s Directive “widely criticised for its non-proportionate ‘one size fits all’ approach to regulatory requirements”.

5. World-leading UK Biomedical Sciences industry under threat - accounts for 9% of exports and 28% of business R&D spending.
The EU : Often Means Well - Delivers Badly
[Sources: EU Directive 2001/20/EC. EU Clinical Trials Regulation 2012. House of Commons Science and Technology Committee Report 2013. Houses of Parliament Office of Science and Technology Report 2011. Academy of Medical Sciences report 2011. National Institute for Health Research. Office of National Statistics ‘Expenditure on R&D performed in UK businesses’. NESTA report ‘All Together Now’.]
 
EU TRADE DEFICIT IS BIGGEST EVER
Government issues latest trade figures Friday 08 April 2016:
1. EU trade is less and less and important for UK.

2. EU sell us £85.3 billion more than we sell them.

3. The UK's exports to the Rest of World increased again by a very healthy 5% in 2015.
The EU - Needs Us More Than We Need Them
[Sources: ONS and HMRC reports and tables issued 08 April 2016.]
 
EU ALLOWS 132 MILLION ENTRANTS VISA-FREE
Three 'Association Agreements' signed by the EU, plus the migrant crisis deal with Turkey, have major impact on VISA-FREE ACCESS to EU.
1. EU signed 'Association Agreements' with Moldova, Georgia, and Ukraine - including visa-free travel.

2. Combined population of these three countries: 52.9 million. Average wage: £1.24 per hour.

3. In addition there are the 78.7 million Turks who have visa-free travel from June, thanks to Mrs Merkel's deal with Turkey in an attempt to solve the EU's migrant crisis.

4. That makes an extra 132 million people from poorer neighbouring countries, able to enter the continental EU this year....
The EU - A Safe Club To Be A Member Of?
[Sources: EU Commission Report on Georgia (http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/home-affairs/e-library/documents/policies/international-affairs/general/docs/proposal_539-2001_georgia_en.pdf) | EU Commission Report on Moldova (http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_STATEMENT-14-137_en.htm) | EU Commission Report on Ukraine (https://ec.europa.eu/transparency/regdoc/rep/1/2015/EN/1-2015-905-EN-F1-1.PDF) | UN population data 2015 (http://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/Download/Standard/Population/) | National Statistics Office of Georgia | National Bureau of Statistics of the Republic of Moldova | State Statistics Service of Ukraine. Official Turkish Statistical Institute: Cultural Statistics 2013. Turkstat Census of Population 28 Jan 2016. EU Commission European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations 2016.]
 
DUTCH PEOPLE SAY 61% 'NEE' TO EU IN SHOCK REFERENDUM RESULT
Official Referendum held in the Netherlands yesterday rejected Government's and EU's plans for future.
1. 61% of Dutch voters said 'Nee' in their Referendum yesterday, 06 April 2016.

2. Dutch Government, which currency holds the EU Presidency, was forced to offer a Referendum after massive 'People Power' petition, organised by online magazine GeenStijl.

3. The Dutch last voted no to the EU Constitution. However the EU then made minor changes and renamed it as the Lisbon Treaty. The Dutch people's vote was ignored.

4. This time the vote was about the EU's new 'Association Agreement' with Ukraine. [See our article here.]

5. Once again it looks like the Dutch people's vote will be ignored. Dutch Prime Minister Rutte said : "If this is the outcome, we will have to consider this advice carefully." And the Ukrainian President said he was sure that: "strategically this event is not an obstacle on Ukraine's path towards Europe."
Anti-EU feelings are growing across Europe.
All eyes are now on the UK to take the lead and vote to leave.
 
FOR A PAY RISE OF 627% WOULDN'T YOU COME TO THE UK?
Latest EU data shows huge pull-factor for EU migrants.
1. In Bulgaria the average pay is £3.31 per hour. In the UK it's £20.76 and in Denmark it's £33.36.

2. Bulgarians coming to do the same job in the UK will receive on average more than six times their pay back home.

3. Hourly rates by country in EU vary by 1000%.

4. If you could multiply your pay 6 times, wouldn't you consider moving country?

5. It's the EU's plan to make us all into one country, starting in 2025 - just 9 years from now. How will this be possible when wages can be different by 1000% on average across the EU?

Why would anyone stay in a poorer EU country?
EU MEMBERSHIP: A SERIOUS RISK FOR UK JOBS AND UK WAGES
 
IN EUROZONE YOU ARE TWICE AS LIKELY TO BE OUT OF WORK
Latest Eurostat figures show Eurozone workers still doing badly compared to UK.
1. Latest EU official stats show you're twice as likely to be out of work in the Eurozone.

2. Eurozone unemployment is running at 10.3%. In the UK it's less than half that - 5.0%.

3. Young Greeks (under 25) are 7 times more likely to be jobless than in Germany. The rate in Greece is now 48.9%.

4. The Eurozone wants to become one country. Enormous differences in employment and prospects for normal people would mean frightening disparities across the continent.
The EU: Is this a club you want to remain in?
 
EU IN CHAOS IN CHIOS AND LESBOS, DEPORTATIONS TO TURKEY STOPPED
EU-Turkey deal on immigration starts to unravel
1. After just one day, the planned deportations of migrants from Greek islands to Turkey have been halted.

2. A Government spokesman told Greek TV that on the first day 136 migrants were deported from Lesvos and 66 from the nearby island of Chios, where riot police clashed with local residents hours earlier during a protest against expulsions. All but two were from Pakistan.

3. On the second day, after thousands of migrants have claimed asylum, officials are overloaded amidst chaos.

4. Meanwhile, the EU Commission admitted yesterday (04 April): "Resettlements from Turkey to the European Union are taking place via plane".
The EU: From Crisis to Drama to Chaos
[Sources: EU Commission Fact Note 04 April 2016. BBC News. ERT1 Greek TV.]
 
OUR STRONG UK HAS A WONDERFUL WORLD FUTURE
Can the UK really thrive outside the EU ?
1. It’s true, we really do have the world’s fifth largest economy, according to the UN, the IMF, The World Bank and the CIA). All four countries with larger GDPs have very much larger populations..

2. On the World stage the UK occupies a unique position :  We have a permanent seat on the Security Council, the G7, the G10 and the G20. We are also the leading country in the Commonwealth which dwarfs the EU with 2.4 billion citizens, GDP of over US$ 10 Trillion and a rapidly growing economy.

3. The UK has one of the five most formidable Diplomatic Services in the World. Absolutely no need of the EU’s fledgling “External Action Service.”

4. The British military has the 5th greatest combined conventional fire power of any nation. Behind only the US, Russia, China and India. Even the smallest of those countries, Russia, has a population double that of the UK.

5. Finally, on the basis of current population, the UK is within the top 10% of countries. (The UK is the 21st most populous state out of 233.)
Should we really fear making our own way in the World ?
[Sources: UN, IMF, World Bank, CIA World Handbook, Globalfirepower.com, Geohive.com. ]
 
GERMANS NOW FACE BILL OF BILLIONS FOR MERKEL'S "REFUGEES WELCOME"
1. Study from ‘Kölner Instituts der deutschen Wirtschaft’ (Cologne Institute for Economic Research) predicts the cost to Germany of migrants' accommodation, food, and language courses will be €22 billion this year and €27.6 billion in 2017.

2. That's €50 billion for this year and next, purely for some of the direct costs. And this assumes immigration will decline dramatically over these two years.

3. Not included: all the other costs associated with Germany’s immigration policy e.g. policing, extra border security, social services, new teachers and schools, new doctors and healthcare, benefit payments, new house building, new contributions to the EU in respect of additional Turkish and Schengen costs, etc.

4. Total cost for Germany alone will be over €100 billion this year and next.
We will soon post information about the costs of the migration to date,
to the EU as a whole.
[Sources: Many German press articles 01 Feb 2016. The actual report is here: http://www.iwkoeln.de/infodienste/iw-kurzberichte/beitrag/fluechtlinge-folgen-fuer-arbeitsmarkt-und-staatsfinanzen-263939 ]
 
BELGIUM GUILTY OF ILLEGAL SUPPORT OF STEEL INDUSTRY
UK steel industry has had illegal competition from our EU partners for years:-
1. EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager claims the EU prevents: "uncontrolled state aid in one EU country [which] can unfairly put at risk thousands of jobs across the EU."

2. However our partners have ignored the rules: Belgium illegally supported its steel industry for 6 years and have been fined €211 million.

3. Between 2006 and 2011 the Belgians distorted competition in breach of EU state aid rules, and were found guilty by the Commission. Imagine the effect on UK companies playing by the rules...

4. Italy, a huge steel producer, is now 'under deep investigation' by the Commission for c.€2 billion of illegal state aid in the form of illegal loans, state-guarantees and direct subsidies.
THE EU COMMISSION HASN'T YET SAID HOW MUCH OF THE FINES WILL BE USED TO SUPPORT THE STEEL WORKERS OF PORT TALBOT, REDCAR, ETC...
[Sources: EU Commission press releases including http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-16-113_en.htm AND http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-16-115_en.htm ]
 
£50 MILLION / DAY?  £350 MILLION / WEEK?        ARE YOU CONFUSED?
Here's the best explanation you'll find about the costs of our EU membership!
Here are 2 basic facts from the Government's independent Office for Budget Responsibility, Mar 2016:-
  • Our total gross contribution to the EU in 2016 will be £20.3 BILLION

    - That's roughly £390 million per week or £56 million per day.
    This is the full notional amount, without taking off the UK's rebate (which could be
    removed in the future) or making any other adjustments.
  • Our 'discounted total' (or 'net contribution') will be £14.5 BILLION

    - That's roughly £279 million per week or £40 million per day.
    Broadly, this is the total we pay after taking off sums we currently get back.
Remainers (including the BBC) say the EU costs us £8.4 BILLION - Why?

There are adjustments one can make - up and down - depending on what you include.
The Remain campaign, the BBC, and Mr Cameron choose to take off various sums, but then they fail to include extras. And they and the BBC are using figures from 2014.
Our figures above come from the Government's independent Office for Budget Responsibility - the reputable source - and are for 2016.
WE BELIEVE IT'S SAFE TO SAY THAT OUR EU MEMBERSHIP WILL COST THE UK
OVER £10 BILLION THIS YEAR.
(And even if it were £8.4 billion, that's still a huge annual membership fee.)
[Source: Official OBR Tables : March 2016 Economic and Fiscal Outlook.]
 
EU THREAT TO UK STEEL INDUSTRY IN CRISIS..........................................      30 MAR - 01 APR 2016
1. Tata Steel has reportedly been losing £1m per day for 5 years, thanks to energy costs driven up by EU green energy directives and Chinese dumping of excess capacity in Europe.

2. EU rules prevent public support or US style anti-dumping Tariffs to help steel companies in difficulty. US steel tariffs against China are 236% vs a 9% limit imposed by the EU.

3. Minister Anna Soubry admits the EU limits the Government's options: "We have to be very careful because we have these state aid rules".

4. Latest official data shows EU responsible for 72% of UK's steel imports.

5. Today former Minister John Redwood MP states: "The way EU energy, regulatory and procurement policies are enforced in the UK versus the continent allow much more steel to be produced in the rest of the EU than here.".

6. In 2015 Italy's plant produced as much as Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia, Romania, and Luxembourg put together. Will the EU allow the UK's steel industry to be saved?

The UK Gets a Raw Deal - Leave the EU for a Fairer Playing Field
[Sources: BBC Today programme 30 Mar 2016 | EU Commission Press releases Jan 2016 | The Guardian 30 Mar | Rt Hon John Redwood MP website ]
 
PRO-EU RYANAIR STRONGLY CONDEMNS EU AMIDST BRITISH HOLIDAYMAKER ANGUISH
1. Over Easter, French air traffic controllers once again disrupted British people's holidays with yet another strike.

2. Pro-EU Ryanair came out strongly on 29 March with another demand that the EU acts. Ryanair and other EU airlines have repeatedly called upon the EU to take action, but nothing has happened.

3. According to the Company this is the 3rd French strike in 2 weeks and the 43rd strike in 7 years.

4. Ryanair’s CMO Kenny Jacobs said: "You cannot have an effective single market in Europe but then allow a tiny French union to close down half the skies over Europe, causing hundreds of thousands of passenger flights to be cancelled / delayed".

4. The Company added: "The European Commission’s failure to prevent these repeated cancellations makes a mockery of the single European market, and Commissioner Juncker's claims about making Europe competitive.".

It seems the EU helps the British consumer and holidaymaker far less than Mr Cameron claims.
 
ARE EU MIGRANT NUMBERS EVEN HIGHER THAN GOVERNMENT SAYS?
1. Official Watchdog, the UK Statistical Authority, has written formally to the ONS, HMRC, DWP and Home Office.

2. The UKSA is questioning the large discrepancy between the Government’s immigration numbers, versus the much larger number of NI figures issued.

3. The Government has so far refused to give the reasons ahead of the Referendum, causing questions in Parliament and outcry from researchers and Leave groups.

4. Read more DETAILS ON OUR IMMIGRATION PAGE here.

5. Read the UKSA’s email in full here.

EU Facts - People Just Want To Know The Truth
[Sources: UKSA website.]
 
     CONSERVATIVES FOR BRITAIN LAUNCHES BREXIT BUDGET
On 22 March, Conservatives For Britain published their 'Post-Brexit Budget'. [PDF Download]
    Commenting, Vice-President John Redwood MP said:

‘The UK currently hands over £19 billion to the EU every year. That’s £350 million a week. If we Vote Leave we will be able to spend our money on our priorities like the NHS. We would have an extra £10 billion to spend allowing us to recruit thousands of new nurses and doctors.

‘We would be able to provide the latest cancer treatments that the NHS currently can not afford and provide extra money for people who are frail and need long term care. We would no longer need to make controversial cuts to disability benefits and we could scrap the tampon tax and the EU’s VAT increases on green goods like solar panels.

‘Instead of sending billions abroad each year we should spend that money on improving our NHS and helping families by cutting unfair EU taxes. That’s why the safer choice in this referendum is to Vote Leave.’.
 
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