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European Affairs

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right and I shall deal with that point in a few moments. When we examine the issues in any detail we find that the EU is bad for trade and bad for jobs, that Britain is worse off by being in the EU, and that withdrawal would actually give Britain a more global outlook to meet the challenges of the 21st century. We are told that 55 per cent. of our trade is with the EU and that if we came out we could say goodbye to that, as well as to about 60 per cent. of our economy and 3 million jobs. I could quibble about the statistical sleight of hand that led to those figures, but I shall not, because to do so would give credence to the argument that that trade would be lost if we left the EU which, as I shall explain, is patently ridiculous, as the point made by the hon. Member for Luton, North (Kelvin Hopkins) illustrated. Trade will not be lost, because it is a two-way street. Our European neighbours make money from us, too; in fact, they make more money from us than we make from them. Britain’s balance of trade with the EU has been running at a deficit since we joined in 1973. According to figures from the Library, between 1973 and 2005 the cumulative trade deficit between the UK and the EU amounted to an astonishing £230 billion. Our partners have made £230 billion more from us than we have from them. Given the importance of the UK to EU countries, ask yourself this, Madam Deputy Speaker: how many European businesses would seriously say, ““All right, that’s it, Britain’s left the EU. I don’t care what it does to my profit margins, but I’m no longer trading with them on principle””? How likely is that? In fact, Switzerland, a non-EU country, enjoys a healthier balance of trade with the EU than us and has a higher proportion of its trade with the EU than us. So much for the benefits of EU membership. The deficit continues to rise while the UK enjoys a trade surplus with the rest of the world. Our surplus with the USA continues to rise every year. We were trading with Europe long before we were members of the EU and I bet we shall still be trading with countries in Europe long after we have left. Let us consider the so-called fact that 3 million jobs depend on our EU membership. They do not; they depend on our trade with the EU. Trade with Europe is not dependent on our EU membership; nor are the jobs that it supports. The only jobs dependent on our membership of the EU are those of EU bureaucrats and civil servants from this country—I admit they might have to find alternative careers. I know that the EU is a bloated bureaucracy, but it hardly accounts for 3 million British jobs. Proponents of the case for the EU try to claim that it is responsible for 55 or 60 per cent. of our trade, but it is not. Exports, of which those to the EU account for about half, are responsible for 21 per cent. of the UK’s gross domestic product, so trade with EU countries accounts for only about 10 per cent. of our GDP. I do not believe that trade would be lost if we left the EU, because so many sectors of our economy have few or no dealings with the continent yet they must all bear the burden of EU red tape and regulation.