EU membership: The true cost to Britain's economy – and the unrealistic assumptions you need to make the numbers net positive per City A.M.

A fascinating read with figures and analysis that you won't find on the pro EU BBC.

Do read the whole article, here's how it starts:

'EU membership: The true cost to Britain's economy – and the unrealistic assumptions you need to make the numbers net positive

Many people are surprised to find that, back in the early 1970s, all the studies undertaken before we joined the then EEC pointed to a negative economic impact. This was due to direct payments to Brussels, alongside the effect of the customs union (common external tariff), which raised prices above world levels, most notably in the case of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

So the reasons for joining weren't economic, although Britain was "the sick man of Europe" at the time, and there was a sense that the UK was joining a more dynamic club (how times change).

But the bottom line was that the economic impact would be negative.
 

Fast forward to the present day and what's the economic impact? In order to answer this question one needs to define what the EU is.

In economic terms, it is essentially three things. First, it is a bureaucracy with people and policies. Second, it is a customs union. And third, it is a single market. Add these together and they should give us a strong indication as to whether or not the economic impact of membership is positive or negative. So what do we know?'

Read the rest here and pass the article on to those who get there EU reporting from the hideously biased BBC.

http://www.cityam.com/235348/eu-membership-the-true-cost-to-britains-economy-and-the-unrealistic-assumptions-you-need-to-make-the-numbers-net-positive