This referendum has been dominated by negative conjecture, false statistics and opinion.

But the Leave leaflet flooding Marple, along with the television political broadcast, takes the biscuit.  They lie.

Lie number 1.

Britain pays £350 million per week into the EU.  False.

There is a rebate (apart from the funding for regional development and various subsidies).  It’s like someone saying “I have a discount on my council tax because I live alone, but I still pay the full council tax”.

The real figure is about £153 million.  Still something, but dwarfed by spending on defence, which is about 8 times as much.

Lie number 2.

Turkey will join the EU by 2020.  Wrong.

Although Turkey applied in 2005, they still need to get their economics and human rights in order.  Even then, each of the 28 states has a veto, including Germany, Cyprus and Greece, none of whom want Turkey to join.  It’s stalled.

 

NHS

And then there’s health.

The Leave campaign states our NHS would be better funded outside the EU, and A+E queues would be shorter.  Not a chance!

In spite of the £133 billion spent in 2014/5, and the Tory ring-fencing, there is a very real funding crisis looming as the result of real-terms decrease in finance and forecast increase in spending, partially due to an ageing population.

But the idea that in the middle of a recession caused by Leaving, that the likes of Boris Johnson and Michael Gove (who have both stated they want to break up the NHS in its present form, free at the point of use) will add to NHS funding is laughable.

Besides, due to a chronic under funding of doctors and nurses, we need immigrants, most of whom come from outside the EU, to keep the NHS and social services going.

Boris, as recently as Feb, said “Leaving would mean embroiling the Government in a fiddly process of negotiating new arrangements, so diverting energy from the real problems of this country”.   I wonder what changed his mind?

And Gove said during the recent Scottish referendum, “We accept, of course, that Scotland is a nation. We accept, of course, that Scotland has its own sovereignty, but we believe that sovereignty is best exercised when pooled with that of the United Kingdom in Scotland’s interest”.  How true!  And relevant!

If the Scots want to stay, should the Brexit campaign be called EngWalNIexit?  Not quite so snappy.

 Dale Road yesterday

The EU helps in many small ways: net investment in science research, money for the Manchester tram, lower phone tariffs and protection of workers rights spring to mind.  Small but significant.

Britain is stronger in the EU and the EU is better off with Britain at its core.  50 years of peace and stability.  Why change what works?

And why leave this as a legacy for our children?

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