---

European Communities (Finance) Bill

Yes, I do accept that France's net contribution will grow more quickly than the UK's, but I also accept that France's net contribution per head is less than the UK's. Furthermore, I am aware that France is the largest recipient of EU largesse, albeit not in terms of the balance between incomings and outgoings, but in terms of the amount that it receives. We should also recognise that EU funding is a transfer of money to particular groups from particular groups. One of the reasons I am so hostile to the way in which the EU budget is currently constructed is that the money comes from people in my constituency, who pay higher food prices than they would otherwise, and goes to wealthy farmers who neither need nor deserve it. The deal that we are discussing does nothing to address that. That is why I intend to vote against it.