John Humphrys led the charge on Today (08:37) trying to separate fact from fiction in the EU debate…so-called debate. Many claims have been made, but which if them have any basis in truth?
The first ‘fact’ examined was Leave stating that we send £350 million per week to the EU. The BBC says we don’t…because we get a rebate and the EU graciously spends some of that money on UK projects….meaning that we actually ‘only’ send £190 million per week to the EU coffers to spend on themselves.
However this misses Leave’s point…as did Humphrys when interviewing Gisela Stuart recently about the NHS…that if we didn’t send any money to the EU we could decide how to spend that money ourselves…on the NHS for instance. We could if we wished continue to spend that money on the same projects the EU spent our money on, or we could opt for some other project…but we would also have that other £190 million per week to spend. The BBC entirely misses the point and makes no reference to it in this piece.
The next ‘fact’ was Remain’s claim that each household would be £4,300 worse off by 2030 if we Brexited. Now the BBC did say this was an exaggeration…but made no attempt to examine whether the principle that we would lose money on Brexit stood up…the BBC just accepts Brexit means the UK economy will suffer long term as well as short term.
‘Fact’ three? Leave says 88 million people will be eligible to come to the UK on accession of new countries to the EU…such as Turkey. The BBC pooh-poohed this by saying it was ridiculous to suggest all 88 million would come here…and anyway it would be very difficult for these countries to meet the necessary criteria to join. Leave of course didn’t suggest all 88 million would come…just that they would be eligible to do so if they wanted to….and with 88 million eligible even 4 or 5 million would be more than likely…and most would be Muslim Turks….not a consideration for the BBC.
The last claim examined was Remain’s claim that 3 million jobs would go…this was found not to be true….though 3 million jobs, maybe 4 million says the BBC, are connected to trade with the EU…and therefore subject to that trade continuing. What the BBC doesn’t look at is a possibility that trade may increase, both with the EU and the rest of the world….how many jobs would we gain long term? No answer.
Humphrys rounded the report off by saying none of the claims were true…but that isn’t true is it? We do send £350 million per week to the EU and the EU decides how to spend it…not us. The £4,300 figure? The BBC just suggests an exaggeration but doesn’t dispute the ‘fact’ that families would lose out on Brexit. The 88 million swarming over the border? Not a claim made by Leave…but that didn’t stop the BBC suggesting that it was. The 3 million jobs, or now 4 million as the BBC subtly suggests….would trade with the EU stop? No. Slow? Maybe, but the EU would want to keep the deals going. Increase? Possibly…with freedom to act and the incentive to do so companies might ramp up their efforts to export both to the EU and the rest of the world. Again no sign that the BBC will admit such a possibility here.
All in all pro-Remain…the BBC says Leave on the face of it correct but the detail says not, conversely Remain are slightly exaggerating but on the while are correct that we are doomed on Brexit. It looks like a genuine attempt to examine the claims but isn’t.
Sounds like BBC service as normal.
Even if I accept the BBC’s figures of ‘only’ 190 millions of pounds a week being guzzled by the EU it means a total of 10 billions of pounds annually being removed from the British economy, a sum which can only continue to increase, in order to prop up the moribund Brussels Extortion Racket. That money would be far better kept under our own control where we can hold those responsible for how it is used to account as opposed to the black hole of the EU over which the population of Europe, never mind Britain, have absolutely no control at all. That is something the fully bribed and EU subjugated BBC will never admit.
What is often overlooked is that the EU was, not long ago, looking for a 5% increase in funding for several years, despite Germany’s hostility to inflation. David Cameron got them to accept that that 5% was unrealistic and, if I recall correctly, the ‘demand’ was trimmed to 1% or thereabouts.
Another key point is: any layer of Government creates costs and has to be paid for by taxpayers and, more importantly, the private sector.
We are currently making a house of cards of devolution at the moment that does two very dangerous things. Firstly, where the devolved power fails to deliver to the satisfaction of those they serve and create needs or grievances or both among their populations. Secondly, if economic shocks occur, if there is insufficient elasticity on the part of the private sector business and on the part of consumers, there may be major defaults of funding for these layers of Government.
We may have had a wake-up call in 2007-09 about the wild expansion of government and the State sector. If we are lucky, that was The Big One and we may return to the usual ups and downs of the economic cycles. However, here’s another warning: greater quantities of governance may remove so much ‘elasticity’ from economies that the usual ups and downs of the economic cycles become a wave system that builds, with the help of another shock (harvest failure? damage to a major oil producer?) to a economic or financial tsunami that one day overwhelms a continent or even our whole world.
Well put up2snuff. You can pretty much bank on off the radar stuff coming along and upsetting the apple cart. It happens all the time, but is not forecastable which is why long-term economic projections are always wrong. The govt £4300 cost per household is perfect example of this. Not only is it a completely fictitious number it has been deliberately peddled by the MSM so people think it will be an actual cut to there current wealth rather than forgone income in 2030 based on some bull**** forecast, which by the way assumes more massive immigration. OUT should rip this nonsense to shreds.
Do our contributions to the EU include the cost of building schools and then staffing and running them for the nett tens of thousands of children who come over here from the rest of Europe?
No, I thought not.
I would be happier if somebody from remain explained how forced quotas and caps on trade because of the EU have done anything except stifle competition and stagnate the whole market….but they can’t. Bang a drum and look at the fireworks. ‘You don’t need to see the figures, we deal with that for you’.
The simple fact that the bbC want in is more than enough reason to vote out. Who’d have thought a large protected established anti-competitive corporation would want to remain. Shocker.
Now the latest from the Remain / BBC camp is that the referendum campaign is stifling government business and if Brexit happens no legislation , government affairs , parliament scrutiny or anything can happen because we will be embroiled in negotiations and repealing every EU legislation at day one .
Funny how previous governments got on with bigger events . Church ills government fought the Second World War and brought out social changes , like the Berveridge Report . Atlee had to rebuild the nation , bring in the Welfare State , manage a lot more international events and still had time for the day to day running of the country .
Perhaps the Remanians should take a closer look at the competence of David Cameron .
But that’s the great thing about the EU for a career politician with no ideology – Brussels makes all the decisions for you.
Dave knows this and doesn’t like the thought of all that work he will have to do if Brexit happens. Actually he needn’t worry if Brexit does happen as he will probably have more time on his hands.
OT, but Classic FM’s Global Propaganda had a ‘story’ that, IIRC, was based on George Osborne ‘endorsing’ a comment by some military bloke about how something Boris said was ‘silly’.
This is all getting more like a kindergarten playground every day.
Next we’ll have Dave & Jezz & That Lib Dem bloke & Nat’s understudy all saying their Dads are bigger than Nigel’s.
Guest Who, being TV (and Licence) -free, I listen to radio most of the day, mostly Talksport and Classic FM. I often get the impression that Classic FM’s news headlines are written by some graduate intern desperate for a job at the BBC.
In those times the Civil Service understood that they were beholden to Ministers and the electorate.
So, applying the same BBC EU Logic…..
(1) I give my wife £350
(2) She goes on a spending spree and spends £190 on anything she fancies.
(3) I then need money to pay the electricity bill (say £100).
(4) She gives me £80 back but I can only spend it on hiring bicycles.
(5) I then might get the rest back to pay the electricity bill. Unless, of course, She discovers she has underestimated what she needs to spend on anything she fancies and takes some of the £80 rebate back.
(6) Leaving me with a large bill and no way of paying it.
Leave your wife . Unless she votes out . Then leave the EU .