Heres an Idea Mr Clegg

[jgmcdee]

Too many pro-EU people just look at the balance sheet wealth and not at the cost of the rules, regulations and laws we have to abide by for being part of the EU. Let's not forget, this is the same organisation that suggest a one size fits all currency and interest rate would be good for ALL members !!!!!!!!!

And this is exactly the argument to break the UK in to individual fiefdoms down to the county or town level. After all, on standard measures of income, wealth, exports, whatever Brighton and (I dunno) Newport are worlds apart so why do they have the same tax and political system? And conversely, if it's good for the UK why is the same system bad for Europe?

But yes we're going over old ground now. Unlikely to find any answers here, although I'm sure that Nick is following this thread avidly for new ideas...

 

[Don Quixote]

The benefits outweigh the cost.

 

[Westdene Seagull]

And this is exactly the argument to break the UK in to individual fiefdoms down to the county or town level. After all, on standard measures of income, wealth, exports, whatever Brighton and (I dunno) Newport are worlds apart so why do they have the same tax and political system?

Put the idea to a referendum and if the outcome is fiefdoms then fine BUT people back in the early 70's didn't vote for the EU - they voted for a Common Market - they were conned. The quickest and simplest way of solving the problem would be to hold a referendum on staying or leaving but every political party is scared of EVER holding ANY referendum on the EU ( Labour blatantly broke a promise to do so ). Also, we shouldn't be providing UK taxpayers money to an organisation that hasn't had it's accounts passed at audit for over 15 years. If you ran a company that did that you would end up in prison.

 

[Westdene Seagull]

The benefits outweigh the cost.

Really ? So the £8bn a year we could save and build new hospitals with or new schools it outweighed by what exactly ( and exports don't count ! ) ?

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

Put the idea to a referendum and if the outcome is fiefdoms then fine BUT people back in the early 70's didn't vote for the EU - they voted for a Common Market - they were conned. The quickest and simplest way of solving the problem would be to hold a referendum on staying or leaving but every political party is scared of EVER holding ANY referendum on the EU ( Labour blatantly broke a promise to do so ). Also, we shouldn't be providing UK taxpayers money to an organisation that hasn't had it's accounts passed at audit for over 15 years. If you ran a company that did that you would end up in prison.

UKIP wouldn't be scared of holding a referendum but are unlikely to have any MP's after the next general election even though they might get a higher percentage of the national vote than the LibDems.

 

[Westdene Seagull]

UKIP wouldn't be scared of holding a referendum but are unlikely to have any MP's after the next general election even though they might get a higher percentage of the national vote than the LibDems.

Agreed - although I'm seriously thinking of voting for them I'm realistic enough to know they won't hold any sort of power after the next election.

 

[Raleigh Chopper]

get that idiot Osbourne to ask for our 17 billion back he has given to the European community and the Irish who not so long ago were boasting about how well they were doing, put that 17 billion back into the coffers



AND LEAVE THE PENSIONERS OF THIS UNITED KINGDOM ALONE

And Camerons in New York boasting to the world that we are going to increase our aid budget and that the world should follow us, what a clown, everyone's struggling and we give more money to countries that neither need it or want it. I,m not against aid to the right people, but sort out the needy here first.

 

[Mellor 3 Ward 4]

And Camerons in New York boasting to the world that we are going to increase our aid budget and that the world should follow us, what a clown, everyone's struggling and we give more money to countries that neither need it or want it. I,m not against aid to the right people, but sort out the needy here first.

Personally, I am all for keeping the overseas Aid budget as it is.

Yes, there are some needy people here, and they need to be helped, perhaps even more than they are now.

how to pay for this? Take way money from people who take the piss out of the system. See the thread about the leaking roof and the the benefit collecting tenant who was abroad on holiday. There are hundreds of thousands of such people across the UK. Go after such people, not pensioners on 20k a year or kids who haven't got clean drinking water in Africa.

 

[BensGrandad]

It always irks me that people who live abroad should still get the winter Heating Allowance to keep warm in Spain, Cyprus or Portugal. As regards this country it has often been suggested that the heating allowance should be means tested but the cost would be prohibitive why? Benefit is means tested so only give it to those who qualify for benefit quite simple. If you have sufficient to live without benefit you must have sufficient to heat your home in the winter, if not make such people apply for it do not give it automatically as happens now.

 

[cunning fergus]

Close, although for 2012 the net contribution to the EU is approximately £6.5bn. Then balance that against the ~£140bn of tax-generating exports that we expect to send to the EU this year and tell me that it's a waste of money.

We import much much more from the EU countries than we export, we can levy our own import taxes. Job done.

UK export and import in 2011: top products and trading partners | News | guardian.co.uk

The net contribution you refer to is increasing and at a time the UK's economy is standing still........we can thank Blair for making that worse by phasing down the rebate.

UK contribution to EU reaches 9bn a year - Business News - Business - The Independent

Thanks to Darling we were signed up to the bailout fund

Darling signed UK up to EU bail-outs - FT.com

Then there's the contributions we make to the IMF a round -a-bout way to make bail out payments to Greece etc. Thanks George.

Then there's the democratic deficit.......another price worth paying presumably?

Begs the question...................what has the EU ever done for us?

 

[beorhthelm]

Begs the question...................what has the EU ever done for us?

given us lots of bureaucratic nonsence, that we follow while other EU nations treat as "guidelines", making us less competitive than them both within and outside the EU. iirc the topical pig thing we follow all the rules on animal welfare strictly so our bacon is more expensive than importing from Denmark and Germany where labour costs are higher.

my favourite is that while we talking of the health costs of smoking and taxing or banning to submission, the EU pays Italian and Spainish farmers to grow tobacco through CAP.

free trade block is what we signed up to and that what we should have.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

It always irks me that people who live abroad should still get the winter Heating Allowance to keep warm in Spain, Cyprus or Portugal. As regards this country it has often been suggested that the heating allowance should be means tested but the cost would be prohibitive why? Benefit is means tested so only give it to those who qualify for benefit quite simple. If you have sufficient to live without benefit you must have sufficient to heat your home in the winter, if not make such people apply for it do not give it automatically as happens now.

It's cheaper to give bus passes, winter fuel allowances and tv licences to those who qualify by age universally than to means test as it requires a whole army of administrators to process the means testing. Those who are well off in retirement have paid more in taxes over their lifetime in any case.

 

[BensGrandad]

It's cheaper to give bus passes, winter fuel allowances and tv licences to those who qualify by age universally than to means test as it requires a whole army of administrators to process the means testing. Those who are well off in retirement have paid more in taxes over their lifetime in any case.

How can that be, very simple if you qualify for benefit you qualify for those, if you don't then you don't get them. End of as benefits are already means tested so no extra work or personnel required.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

How can that be, very simple if you qualify for benefit you qualify for those, if you don't then you don't get them. End of as benefits are already means tested so no extra work or personnel required.

So a pensioner who gets a State pension but no pension credit doesn't get anything else at all?

 

[cunning fergus]

given us lots of bureaucratic nonsence, that we follow while other EU nations treat as "guidelines", making us less competitive than them both within and outside the EU. iirc the topical pig thing we follow all the rules on animal welfare strictly so our bacon is more expensive than importing from Denmark and Germany where labour costs are higher.

my favourite is that while we talking of the health costs of smoking and taxing or banning to submission, the EU pays Italian and Spainish farmers to grow tobacco through CAP.

free trade block is what we signed up to and that what we should have.

EU hypocrisy...............really?

ERS - European Parliament scraps smoking ban after only six weeks