Time to sort out our position on Europe (From Daily Echo)

Time to sort out our position on Europe

1:59pm Thursday 12th July 2012 in Readers' Letters

LIBERAL Democrat letter-writer Richard Grant (July 6) suggests that Britain receives a £3 billion rebate from the EU. This is a wholly incomplete picture of our financial relationship with this failing organisation.

The following recent intervention by Conservative peer Lord Flight in the House of Lords will serve to set out the facts.

He said: “I checked with the Treasury, because I could not believe a report in the newspapers that in 2013-14 Britain’s net contribution to the EU would be £31.3 billion.

The Treasury confirmed that figure to me. I thought that it was still only £12 billion on £13 billion.

“It is not a sum of money that this country can afford.”

Whilst on the subject of the EU, I would encourage as many readers as possible to sign up to the People’s Pledge (www.peoplespledge.org) which calls for a referendum on our continued membership of the EU.

Sixty eight MPs have already put their names to this excellent initiative.

COLIN SMITH, Totton Branch, New Forest East Conservatives