Wednesday 21 October 2015

Pro-EU MPs are really scraping the barrel.

From The Evening Standard:

Pro-Europe MPs served the threat of a pricier pint a day after Tory eurosceptics claimed that chicken tikka masala would taste better in an independent UK.

Lucy Thomas, from Britain Stronger in Europe, said: “The cost of everyday items is lower in London because of the EU. Trading freely across Europe means cheaper goods and services ... whether you’re buying a pint or booking a flight. If we left Europe then UK pubs may have to pay a higher tariff to buy in beer from France, Belgium, or Germany. Let’s make sure we avoid that hangover.”

However, Tory MP Paul Scully scorned the claim. He said: “I don’t see us losing access to the single market because European brewers will still want to export their beers. Competition would keep prices low and restaurants and pubs could knock off the cost of EU red tape, which would be something to celebrate.”


Above and beyond that, (nearly) half the cost of a pint in the pub is Beer Duty and VAT, which an independent Britain would be able to increase or reduce to suit itself. The actual price of beer ex-duty is almost irrelevant. And there are plenty of bansturbators who want beer to cost more anyway, so from their point of view, a price rise would be A Good Thing.

I mean, there are some legitimate arguments for staying in the EU (but I'm not giving them away and there are more and better arguments for leaving), so why do they have to stoop to such crap? It does suggest that they can't think of any.

7 comments:

Lola said...

Looking at the in / out EU choice I cannot for the life of me see how anyone who values liberty, self determination, the rule of law or simply sound and accountable government administration could want anything but out. Add in the direct financial transfers and the dead weight costs of all that EU regulationism and it ought be case closed and we take our bat and ball with us.

Bayard said...

"so why do they have to stoop to such crap?"

No, doubt because they think that the average voter can't grasp concepts like liberty, self determination, the rule of law or simply sound and accountable government administration, so they talk about something they think they can understand, like the price of beer. Pure condescension.

Random said...

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/oct/21/eu-economy-more-dynamic-bank-of-england-chief-mark-carney-referendum
Carney says the EU has made UK "more dynamic." WTF does that even mean?

FrankC said...

"more dynamic." means prices may go up or . . . up further.

Antisthenes said...

Lets scare them to death of leaving brigade still in full swing I see. It is absolute nonsense to say if we leave the EU that tariffs will be introduced on trade goods and services. The EU even more than the UK will not want that to happen they sell more to us than we sell to them and they are not going to jeopardise that. No trade will carry on much as it has before as will much else that the the UK is happy with either in or out of the EU. Probably no jobs will be lost in fact many more will be created than if we had stayed in because the greater freedoms we will enjoy will allow us to compete better in the wider world.

I defy anyone to find any imperative reason for remaining in the EU. Even those who want us to remain in cannot well not ones that have any basis in truth. Not even economic ones as those only improve with leaving.

Graeme said...

thatr is brazen bullshit on so many levels...ok UK fuel duties are UK decisions and should be fronted mup!

However, 70% of an air ticket is euro taxes.

Mark Wadsworth said...

R, Frank has answered your question.

Anti, yes.

G, where do you get that from? Air tickets are VAT exempt and the APD is a purely UK tax. On average one-fifth or one-tenth of the ticket price is APD, and although this is a very badly designed tax, it does not push up ticket prices it merely taxes away some of the state-granted airline monopoly profits.

So, there are plenty of arguments against the EU, but that is not one of them.