Tories Promise to Give Even More of Your Taxes to the EU
The Conservative Party has promised to give even more British taxpayers’ money to Europe if they are elected to government.
The astonishing promise was made in an official Tory document released quietly before MPs broke for their summer holiday last week. The timing of its release meant that it went almost unnoticed by the media, as was clearly the intention.
In the policy document, Tory shadow Europe minister Mark Francois said that his party would increase Britain’s financial contributions to the European Union in exchange for reforms to European farm subsidies.
Mr Francois added that a Tory government would be willing to put Britain’s EU budget rebate up for discussion as well.
The announcement is another example of the extreme hypocrisy emanating from the Tory party, as they were one of the most vocal critics of the Labour government over a 2005 deal to cut the British rebate in exchange for changes to the Common Agricultural Policy system of farm subsidies.
What makes the Tory announcement even more remarkable is that it comes hard on the heels of an announcement that British tax contributions to the EU are already rising and that next year each household will have to pay £257 towards the EU.
Even the new figures hide the true extent of the rise in Britain’s contributions to the EU. Figures from the Treasury’s Statistical analysis 2009 show that new expenditure rose from £5.4 billion in 2007–08 to £7.9 billion for 2010–11.
This is tantamount to a 46 percent increase in taxpayers’ money going to the EU while millions of British people are unemployed and the country struggles to emerge from one of the worst recessions in decades.
Based on official figures, the total cost to Britain of continued EU membership is as follows:
- By 2008 Britain will have made total contributions to the European Community (EC) budget of £230.4 billion gross or almost £68.2 billion net.
- By the end of the current EC budget period Britain will have made estimated total contributions to the EC Budget of £315.4 billion gross and £101.4 billion net.
- By 2007 Britain had an accumulated trade deficit with the other EU member states of £383.7 billion.
- The Common Agricultural Policy costs Britain at least £16.8 billion per annum.
- The Common Fisheries Policy costs Britain at least £3.275 billion per annum.
- Over-regulation on business costs Britain at least £28 billion per annum.
