Lord Lawson is right – the EU costs too much to stay

Jonathan Lindsell, 7 May 2013

Today the former Chancellor, Nigel Lawson, announced his intention to vote out of Europe ( full text [£]). His analysis ranged from the military to the political, but he was most accurate regarding the current economic costs. This stands in contrast to the errors espoused by former Defence and Foreign Secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind on a prominent ‘Europhile’ website last week.

A new Civitas study investigates how the EU impedes the UK’s economic growth. Even when taking the lowest and most trustworthy estimates for each sector it’s clear that the EU costs the UK over £30 billion each year.

This includes £19.35 billion in red tape and ham-fisted ‘one size fits all’ regulation. The infamous Common Agricultural Policy costs us £5.6 billion in waste and by inflating food prices needlessly. We contribute £6.8 billion to the EU budget for the privilege of these drawbacks, and the looming threat of a damaging Financial Transaction Tax.

What do we get for this high price? Vince Cable would have you believe that the Single Market is a vital boon, contributing £3,300. This claim is bogus – it uses an outdated inaccurate former, then mistakes ‘individual’ for ‘household’.

In reality, the argument that we must stay in the EU for the Single Market’s benefits makes no sense. Thanks to the WTO, international tariffs are the lowest they’ve ever been. EU membership means that Britain cannot negotiate free trade agreements (FTAs) that suit us – we must cater for the protectionist whims of all 27 members. This is stalling any progress with America, Canada and India.

The ‘clout’ argument makes no sense – the new study shows that many small countries have achieved FTAs with America, Japan or China. Indeed, recently even Iceland (population 300,000) signed an agreement with Beijing. ‘Brexit’ would bring similar competitiveness and flexibility.

Indeed, a Civitas investigation into the automobile industry proves that, thanks to German interests, an ‘Independent Britain’ would certainly get free trade with the EU itself.

In a nutshell: the EU’s benefits are woefully overinflated, its costs are gruesome, its rules are unnecessary and Britain would do better alone.

For more of our work on Britain and Europe, including books, research papers and objective teaching materials for use in schools, visit here.