PRESS RELEASE : Campaign News – PM backs BSE campaign
The press release issued by 29 October 2015.
David Cameron yesterday said that he would ‘strongly guard’ against the Norwegian option as it means the country ‘has no seat at the table’ to negotiate EU laws. The Prime Minister has previously said that he would ‘rule nothing out’ following his renegotiation, but it is becoming clear that he is siding with the pro-EU BSE campaign. He has lost all confidence in his reform package, and now he is talking down Britain.
The UK needs a say at the global level, not the EU
The argument that the UK should stay in the EU to keep its seat at the table is outdated, as more and more rules are now made at a global level. As the world’s 5th largest economy, the UK will have a leading voice in shaping standards and regulations across the globe.
Pro-EU groups claim that the UK needs to shape EU laws on financial services in order to protect the City of London. However, much of the UK’s financial regulation is influenced by the Financial Stability Board. And the chair of the Board? Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England.
Similarly, a key export market for Norway is the fishing industry. It just so happens that the Norwegian government is chair of the international food standards committee on fish and fish products.
In any event, our research shows that the UK has opposed 72 measures in the EU Council which have gone on to become law. This has cost the UK taxpayer an eye-watering £2.4 billion a year.
Collective responsibility
With the Prime Minister losing any semblance of neutrality in this debate, it raises the question of collective cabinet responsibility. David Cameron has said that he will make a decision over this once he returns with his reform package. However, ministers who want to campaign for Brexit could be forgiven for being annoyed that they have not yet been given a free vote, let alone allowed to publicly announce their position.
Clegg takes up his role on BSE campaign
Former Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg weighed into the debate on the Today programme this morning. He argued that all of the models for relationships with the EU offered by non-member European countries were ‘worse than being a full member of the single market’. This is coming from the man who claimed that ‘if we remain outside the euro, we will simply continue to subside into a position of relative poverty and inefficiency compared to our more prosperous European neighbours’. It is clear that Clegg will help the BSE campaign run Project Fear II. They should stop doing Britain down.
We do not want a Norway option. We want to secure the best deal for the UK. This means stopping sending £350 million each week to the EU; regaining the ability to make our own trade deals; ending the supremacy of EU law and taking our seat on world bodies.
David Cameron’s negotiation will not achieve fundamental reform. The only way to achieve the best deal for the UK is to Vote Leave.
