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European Communities (Finance) Bill

If I accepted that specious point I should be criticising my leader and I would never ever do that. Let us say that there is a contribution across the exchanges rather than an assessment of the budgetary position. What benefits do we get? There is a mantra. The Government and euro-enthusiasts always tell us that inestimable benefits flow from Europe. They say inestimable, as a reason for not estimating them. Year after year I have tabled questions asking for a balance sheet of the gains and losses of our membership of the EU. Lord Pearson, who represents the provisional wing of the UK Independence party in the House of Lords, tables an annual motion asking for a balance sheet, but we are never told what the benefits are. We are told that many jobs are dependent on Europe. That is just not true; those jobs would exist whether we were in the EU or out of it. Exports and trade would continue.