THE Prime Minister said recently that anybody who believed that Britain, outside the European Union, could be a trading haven was living in cloud cuckoo land.
Well, I'm afraid there's a growing majority in Britain who must be living in cloud cuckoo land, including myself.
Last year, the United Kingdom paid £8.9 billion gross to the EU and received £4.8 billion back, leaving a net contribution of £4.1 billion. Add to this the heavy costs of belonging to the Common Fisheries Policy and the Common Agricultural Policy which, according to the National Consumer Council, costs the average British family £20 a week.
Also, British exports are selling fastest in countries outside of Europe. Of course, the pro-Europeans warn that Britain would be isolated with nowhere to trade.
They said the same about Norway, but Norway still trades with the European Union without having any restrictions imposed on her.
And, finally, Britain would run its own affairs from Westminster, and not be told what to do by Brussels.
Perhaps a referendum would decide just how many people want to vote for cloud cuckoo land.
D PEARSON (MR), Rawstorne Street, Blackburn.
Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.
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