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Quick Brexit facts from official sources
Read by Ministers, MPs, MEPs, peers, ambassadors, journalists, and the public
BREXIT NEWS 21-30 Apr 2018  
 AMBER RUDD
OPINION
We are delighted that Ms Rudd is no longer part of government. She was without doubt one of the archest of arch-Remainers sitting around Mrs May’s cabinet table. It ran in the family - her brother was a prominent member of the Remain campaign, focusing on businesses.
In Brexit terms Ms Rudd is perhaps best known for her dismissal of Boris Johnson, saying during a TV debate: “he's not the man you want driving you home at the end of the evening”. It was always unclear to us how this advanced any argument whatsoever in favour of Remain. Presumably in the absence of having any facts to support her europhile views she felt she had to resort to personal attacks on Brexiteers.
REMAIN / BREXIT COMPOSITION OF CABINET
There’s little point in us saying much about a successor. Readers know we feel that the majority of the main offices of state should be held by pro-Brexit ministers. Mrs May, being a Remainer who still refuses to say she would now back Brexit if the vote were re-run, prefers to surround herself with fellow-Remainers.
If May appoints yet another Remainer to replace Rudd, it will just be one more in a long line of her kicks in the teeth for the majority of the British people who voted to leave the EU.
WORD OF WARNING
Rudd will now be free to speak against the democratically-expressed will of the British people from the backbenches. And one thing is for sure, the biased, pro-EU Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow will take great delight in giving her as many opportunities to speak as possible.
       07.30am, 30 Apr 2018
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 IRISH CUSTOMS CONFIRMS:
NO HARD BORDER NEEDED
                                 © Oliver Dixon / The Border on Killeen School Road
EU IS PREVENTING BORDER SOLUTION
BY IRISH & BRITISH CUSTOMS OFFICIALS
Last week we brought you the testimony of Jon Thompson, CEO of HMRC, in which he stated We do not believe we require any infrastructure between Northern Ireland and Ireland under any circumstances.”
Today we bring you the testimony of the Irish side, in which they say exactly the same.
BREXIT FACTS4EU.ORG SUMMARY
BORDER BETWEEN NORTHERN IRELAND & THE REPUBLIC
“We have absolutely no plans for anything along the Border at this stage”
“There would not be customs stops on the Border such as applied until 1992 [before the Good Friday Agreement] as described by the Deputy.”
  • No hard border required, say Irish Customs
  • No customs posts on the border
  • Customs to be handled electronically, as largely done at present, and this is now EU policy
  • Only 2% of goods are currently checked and this won’t change
  • Irish goods can continue to pass through UK to continent using ‘common transit arrangement’
  • EU prevents negotiations or discussions taking place between the two sides who can solve the issue
Not only do the Irish Customs believe there effectively isn’t an Irish border problem, they confirm that the British and Irish customs organisations have been prevented by the EU Commission from meeting to agree the new arrangements.
In other words, there are clear solutions to the border issues which both sides agree upon, which:-
  • Do not require a hard border
  • Do not require Northern Ireland to stay in a Customs Union with the EU
  • Do not require Mrs May’s ‘Customs Partnership’
  • And which could be implemented by next year if needed
In the next article we present excerpts from the testimonies of two senior people responsible for Irish Customs and Revenue, as well as testimony from the Taoiseach’s Brexit man. This evidence supports what we say above, but not all readers will want to read the detail so it is presented separately.
OBSERVATIONS
Given the evidence we provided last week from HMRC and the evidence we are providing today from their Irish counterparts, it is now perfectly clear to any reasonable person that the issue of the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic has been ‘weaponised’ by the EU and by the anti-British government in Dublin, and is being used for political purposes.
We are in no doubt that with goodwill from both sides, the two customs organisations either side of the border could have this all agreed in no time.
Today Michel Barnier will YET AGAIN visit the Irish border, this time with the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar. They will pose and posture as usual, and British anti-Brexit MPs will jump all over the critical comments about the UK which will doubtless come out of today’s photo opportunity.
We will be told that it is essential that the UK stays inside the EU’s Customs Union. We will be told by certain parts of the government that Mrs May’s ‘Customs Partnership’ could be the ideal compromise. It is not. We agree with Jacob Rees-Mogg that this was a cretinous idea, alledgedly coming from Olly Robbins, Mrs May’s Brexit adviser in No.10.
Naturally there are very many points of detail to agree between the two sides, but if the EU stepped out of the way it seems certain that the two organisations responsible could sort things out in short order.
Let’s be clear, we are presenting facts here. Why are these not reported strongly enough on the BBC and other mainstream media outlets, so that Remoaner MPs and peers have the wind completely taken out of their sails?
If we were to summarise and simplify a complex issue, the message is that there really is NO serious problem caused by Brexit to the border and to the Good Friday Agreement. This always was a political fiction, as we have said repeatedly since it first started to be used by the EU in 2016.
Given the worry caused in particular to the peoples of Northern Ireland and those living on the southern side of the border, those involved in this deception should hang their heads in shame.
[ Sources: Irish Parliament ]      Journalists and politicians can contact us for the full list of links, as usual.        06.30am, 30 Apr 2018
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Name: Big Mach, Cheshire      Date/Time: 30 Apr 2018, 08.17am
Message: And this from the Irish News 5th August 2016: "Customs staff in the Republic are already assessing potential technologies, such as traffic surveillance and computerised pre-authorisation of importers and exporters, according to Anthony Buckley, the Irish Customs deputy director-general. He said the aim was to develop a system whereby a truck can drive from one end of the island to the other without stopping. "Even if there's a free-trade agreement (between the UK and EU), we'll still need to know what is being traded, what's crossing the border," Mr Buckley told a Brexit briefing organised by the Irish Exporters' Association (IEA). "Our design challenge, as I like to term it, is that a truck should be able to drive from Cork to Belfast or from Holyhead to Galway, without stopping. That would be the ideal, and we want to achieve that. Mr Buckley said the system was likely to take three years to design and develop. The aim is to ensure that information about a lorry's load could be inputted into a computer on the south side of the border and then be automatically conveyed to the authorities in the north. The vehicle's movement would be monitored in a similar fashion to the automated toll booths operating on the M50 in Dublin."

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 WHAT IRISH REVENUE & CUSTOMS SAY ABOUT
THE BORDER AFTER BREXIT
EXCERPTS FROM TESTIMONIES OF IRISH REVENUE & CUSTOMS
(See the article above for a summary of the key points.)
The following testimonies were given by two senior members of the Irish Revenue and Customs last year and by the Taoiseach's Brexit adviser, to a Committee of the Irish Parliament. They assume that the UK will be OUT of the Single Market, and OUT of the Customs Union.
The three people questioned were Nial Cody, Chairman of the Board of the [Irish] Revenue Commissioners, Liam Irwin, then Revenue Commissioner, and John Callinan, Head of Economic, International and Northern Ireland Division, Department of the Taoiseach. They were questioned one week apart, but we have combined their testimonies under the various headings relevant to the whole N.I. border question.
We ask you to read what follows and decide for yourselves if what we say in the article above is true.
ON PEOPLE CROSSING THE BORDER FOR SHOPPING OR VISITS
Q: “Will somebody who gets on a train in Dublin still be able to travel to Belfast without checks somewhere along the way?”
Mr. Niall Cody: “I certainly expect so.”
Q: “Okay. It is really about the trade and goods rather than the people.”
Mr Nial Cody: “…The margins are such that there will be cross-Border shopping but it will not put a hole in the Exchequer receipts.… However, we have always had to address them while we have been part of the Single Market, because of excise duty differentials on high volume stuff.”
ON THE NATURE OF THE NEW BORDER
Liam Irwin: “Whatever happens, it is clear that a border with the United Kingdom, including Northern Ireland, would not be what we saw in 1993 just because customs have moved on and become electronic.”
“We are planning for trade facilitation, enabling goods to move. We have absolutely no plans for anything along the Border at this stage. We are examining what the various forms of declaration might be, primarily or almost exclusively electronic, with anything requiring inspection being signalled for inspection somewhere in general proximity to the Border, but if I were to hazard a guess, not on the Border.”
Q: “Revenue has identified several locations where customs posts could be erected in------”
Mr. Liam Irwin (Irish Customs): “That is not true.”
Q: “That is not true?”
Mr. Liam Irwin (Irish Customs): “That is not true.”
Q: “Is Revenue looking at several suitable locations?”
Mr. Liam Irwin (Irish Customs): “We are not currently looking at any locations. No planning has reached that stage. We are examining what we might need in terms of infrastructure but not where it might be. We are not looking at sites-----”
Q: “What does that mean? The witness said it would be beside the Border but not on the Border. What does that mean?”
Mr. Liam Irwin (Irish Customs): “It would be in some proximity to the Border. It might be 10 km or 15 km back from the Border.”
Q: “Would it be a facility? What is the purpose of it?”
Mr. Liam Irwin (Irish Customs): “Declarations would be electronic. Electronic facilitation could be done using anything from a big computer system to apps on a mobile device such as a tablet or a phone. Most transactions would be immediately approved and that would be the end of that. There would be free movement for those items thereafter. Perhaps 6% to 8% of items, mainly comprising container traffic-----”
Q: “Would be diverted to this facility?”
Mr. Liam Irwin: “----would be diverted. Based on current experience, most of those items would be diverted for a documentary check and a small number sent for physical inspection. There would not be customs stops on the Border such as applied until 1992 as described by the Deputy. That is not the process we envisage. Declarations will be electronic. The stations will be there mainly for trade facilitation to clarify issues. There would be some form of customs intervention but not at those stations. It would probably comprise mobile intervention of some consignments, either randomly or randomly with risk rating. The trade facilitation station will be very different from the customs stations the Deputy remembers.”
ON EXISTING ARRANGEMENTS
Mr. Niall Cody (Irish Customs): “In 2016, 6% of import declarations were checked and less than 2% were physically checked. The vast majority of these checks were carried out in approved warehouses and other premises with a very small number at a port or airport. The low level of import checks is the result of pre-authorisation of traders, advance lodgement of declarations and an extensive system of post-clearance checks, including customs audit, which are carried out at traders' premises.”
“Authorised economic operators, AEOs, have a special status in the system and under agreed protocols are allowed to operate greatly simplified customs procedures. There are currently 133 AEOs, which account for 82% of all imports and 89% of exports. It will be very important that the bulk of trade continues to be through AEOs after Brexit.”
ON EU PREVENTING IRISH & BRITISH CUSTOMS ORGANISATIONS FROM TALKING
Liam Irwin: “We are not in any form of negotiation or even having any discussion with the UK at this point.”
Q: “Could Mr. Cody clarify whether there is a legal impediment to negotiations between us and-----“
Mr. Niall Cody (Irish Customs): “Yes.”
Q: “-----so we can have discussions but not negotiations?”
Mr. Niall Cody (Irish Customs): “The European Union will be negotiating with the United Kingdom in regard to Brexit.”
Q: “We cannot do that as a single member state.”
Mr. Niall Cody (Irish Customs): “No. Revenue would not be a party to negotiations of that type anyway. We implement the policy and the law. The Department of Finance would lead on fiscal policy. HM Revenue & Customs is like ourselves in this regard.”
ON THE IDEA OF DOING EVERYTHING ELECTRONICALLY
It is now EU policy for customs across the EU to be managed electronically.
Mr. Niall Cody (Irish Customs): “The EU policy is to go to an IT-based customs process that is totally paperless. The Vice President of the European Commission gave a speech at the European Parliament last week about evaluating customs performance and management as a tool to facilitate trade and fight illicit trade.”
Mr. Niall Cody (Irish Customs): “Under EU treaties, customs policy is a competence of the Commission. The law governing customs, the Union customs code, was introduced in 2016. The administration of controls is a matter for national administrations provided that the systems in use satisfactorily address any risk to the EU.”
ON CROSS-BORDER TRADE IN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS AND ANIMALS
Mr. Niall Cody (Irish Customs): “Food integrity is clearly a major challenge, and the agrifood sector will need careful handling. It is primarily one of the areas that the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine will lead on. There is an integrated nature to the supply chain of the agrifood sector, which is probably the biggest sectoral challenge. It is interesting in the context of the task force as this issue is primarily driven by environmental health, so DG SANTE leads in that regard, and we are kind of subcontractors after the event. Nobody underestimates the challenge that Brexit brings but we will be starting from a position of an equivalence of standards. As Mr. Keegan argues, when somebody leaves the club, equivalence changes over time. That is an asset challenge but we will be a support to agriculture in that area.”
ON IRISH GOODS TRANSITING THROUGH THE UK
Q: “Let me give an example of a haulier who has a truck going to France via the Border. Mr. Cody has outlined the role of Revenue at the Border. What will happen when this truck crosses into Northern Ireland, travels to England and crosses to France? Could Mr. Cody say how many checks a truck would have to undergo on that journey?”
Mr. Niall Cody: “It would depend on whether the United Kingdom is part of the common transit arrangement. If it were part of the common transit area, there is a facility whereby a truck leaving Dublin can go under the transit arrangement to its final destination in France.”
Q: “Would it have been checked once?”
Mr. Niall Cody: “It would probably not have been checked at all.”
Q: “Is that a possibility?”
Mr. Niall Cody: “Yes. However, if the United Kingdom transit arrangements do not work, for whatever reason-----”
Q: “Is it not in the interests of the United Kingdom to have a transit arrangement in view of the fact that some of the trucks from the North come to Dublin or trucks coming into Wexford travel to the North?”
Mr. Niall Cody: “It is absolutely in the interests of the United Kingdom to have transit arrangements. We imagine the UK will have such arrangements, but one cannot guess.”
OBSERVATIONS
Above we have only provided key excerpts from lengthy testimonies. Naturally these are senior civil servants and they must be careful that they do not say anything which unduly embarrasses their political masters.
Nevertheless it is clear that the Northern Irish border with the Republic is nothing at all like its depiction by the EU, by the Irish government, and by Remainer MPs and peers in the UK.
From the testimony of the senior Irish customs personnel, and from the evidence of the senior British customs personnel, we believe that if were to put them in a room together they would probably come out inside two days with everything solved.
POLITICAL GAMES-PLAYING
As we wrote last week, on the Irish border question as with everything else connected with Brexit, it’s perfectly obvious that political games are being played – by the EU and by Remainer MPs.
There is ample evidence for this. In addition to the above there is also a report from the EU Parliament last year which the EU conveniently keeps forgetting about. The UK government issued two papers on how to deal with the issue last July, but the EU and Remainer MPs keep ignoring those too.
It really is time that people started dealing with the facts. And by 'people', we are thinking of the anti-Brexit brigade in Westminster, the EUrocrats in Brussels, and the BBC and other main news outlets.
[ Sources: Irish Parliament ]      Journalists and politicians can contact us for the full list of links, as usual.        06.30am, 30 Apr 2018
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 THE PEOPLE’S ARMY vs
THE ESTABLISHMENT'S ARMY
MAKE-UP OF THE MASSED RANKS OF THE PRO-EU ESTABLISHMENT
In early 2016 the government was still confident of winning the EU Referendum. Mr Cameron went off to Brussels several times, expecting to get some significant concessions which would swing it for the ‘Stronger In’ campaign.
In reality he came back with what Mr Jacob Rees-Mogg MP famously called “thin gruel”.
At this point the government machine went into overdrive. Contact was made with an enormous number of organisations and individuals. Many of these were domestic but calls were made overseas too. Possibly the most famous of the international set was President Obama, who even visited the UK to threaten that we would be “at the back of the queue” for any trade deal with the USA.
Mr Cameron stood beside him smiling, as Barack Obama threatened the British people in this way.
Below we have assembled a sample list of ‘the great and the good’ who voluntarily lined up – or who were persuaded by the government and the Stronger In campaign to line up – to promote a Remain vote.
THE PRO-EU ARMY
This is only an indicative list and we're sure that readers could add to it in every way. But it will suffice as a reminder of the sheer scale of Establishment opposition to a Leave vote.
UK Governments & Political Parties
The UK Government, Scottish Government, Welsh Government, Labour Party, Lib Dems, SNP, Greens, Plaid Cymru, Ulster Unionists, Sinn Fein, SDLP, Alliance Party
Ministers
The Prime Minister, Chancellor, Foreign Secretary, Home Secretary, Defence Secretary, and 19 other Cabinet Ministers (80% of Cabinet in total)
Other politicians and entities
74% of all MPs, the vast majority of the House of Lords, the TUC, Mayor of London, the Bank of England and the Treasury (unofficially), almost all senior civil servants and ambassadors (unofficially), the major City Councils including London, Birmingham, Manchester, Bristol, Cardiff, Glasgow, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, Milton Keynes, Newcastle, Nottingham and Sheffield
Banks
HSBC, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, George Soros, JP Morgan, Bank of America, Chairman of Barclays, CEO of Lloyds
Business
The CBI, City of London Corporation, the bosses of Ryanair, Easyjet, Marks & Spencer, Asda, Vodafone, BT, Virgin, and 36 of the FTSE 100 companies, 90% of economists, the Institute for Fiscal Studies, Lord Sugar, seven of the BBC’s ‘Dragons’, GlaxoSmithKline, Unilever, Michael Bloomberg, Charles Dunstone, Bill Gates, and more than 1,000 other business leaders
International financial ‘authorities’
The IMF, OECD, World Bank, G7, G20, European Central Bank, World Trade Organisation (Just think about that list for a second)
Security
13 senior former Chiefs of Defence Staff and generals, the former heads of GCHQ and JIC, the former heads of police services, the Secretary-General of NATO, Head of Europol
Society
The National Farmers Union and almost all other trades unions, Universities UK, National Union of Students, NHS Chief Executive, the Head of the Church of England, the Church of Scotland, Church of Wales, Head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, and many other organisations in society
Media
BBC, Sky, and ITV, (all denied any bias), the Times and Financial Times (officially), and the majority of journalists (our opinion)
Science
Sir Stephen Hawking plus 150 other Fellows of the Royal Society, 13 British Nobel laureates, the Astronomer Royal
Sport
All 20 Premier League football clubs, David Beckham, Arsene Wenger, Gary Lineker, Rio Ferdinand, Paula Radcliffe, Brian Moore, Lawrence Dallaglio, Bobby George, Ben Ainslie, and many more sports personalities
‘Celebrities’
Elton John, Daniel Craig, Jude Law, Bill Nighy, Simon Cowell, J K Rowling, Jeremy Clarkson, Keira Knightly, Bob Geldof, John Le Carre, Helena Bonham-Carter, Danny Boyle, Benedict Cumberbatch, Matt Damon, Paloma Faith, Jamie Oliver, and hundreds more ‘celebs’ of all kinds, 96% of the Creative Industries Federation
Charities
RSPB, World Wildlife Fund UK, Heads and former Heads of other major charities including Save The Children
International Politics
The EU Commission, European Parliament, the 27 EU countries, President Obama, Hilary and Bill Clinton, 8 former US Treasury Secretaries, Kofi Annan (United Nations), the Prime Ministers of Australia, Canada, New Zealand and India, the President of China, the Japanese Government and most other foreign governments worldwide
The above are merely some examples of the machine that was lined up against Leave.
OBSERVATIONS
In January 2013, over five years ago, the then Prime Minister David Cameron delivered what became known as his 'Bloomberg speech'. In it he effectively promised a referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union and the rest is... well, it's why you're reading this site.
At the time, David Cameron clearly knew he had a political problem - UKIP support had grown to around 15% - and this was at a level which threatened a second election victory. He knew people were unhappy. However he also knew the power of his office and knew who he could count on. Over the next few years he would embark on a slow process of persuasion, culminating in a Referendum campaign that started coralling the Great and the Good in the autumn of 2015.
By the spring of 2016, the project to brainwash the British people was in full swing. At its peak it was awe-inspiring in its scope, breadth and depth. It took in every aspect of human life in the United Kingdom and subjected it to varying degrees of pressure, from subtleties to outright intimidation.
Nothing was off limits.
"Can we get the Archbishop of Canterbury?"
"God yes."
"The Beckhams? Bill Gates? Save the Children?"
"No problem."
"What about some US Presidents.... hell, what about all of them?"
"Okay Chief, I'll get on to Obama's people right away."
 
David Cameron, © Sky
Piece by piece, the massed ranks of government, political parties, banks, business, unions, science, education, sport, charities, TV, press, celebrities, actors, artists & musicians, religions, international organisations and world leaders were all assembled. It’s not an exaggeration to describe this as having been a David against Goliath contest, only in this case the most notable 'David' was on the side of Remain and was in fact one of the big, bad guys.
THE GOVERNMENT VERSUS THE PEOPLE
It was impossible to miss that the Remain campaign was government-backed, and for weeks the government pointed out on a daily basis that Leave had virtually no ‘experts’ nor major organisations on their side. This was compounded with dire threats of immediate recessions and emergency budgets, massive job losses, property crashes, losing £4300 per family, and almost anything else Remain could think of, including the possibility of a third world war.
The government also invested heavily in a pro-Remain leaflet sent to every house in the country and spent significantly online too.
BREXIT FACTS4EU.ORG SUMMARY – CAMPAIGN SPENDING
  • Remain outspent Leave by over 2 to 1
  • The government used £9.3m of public money to promote its propaganda
  • Almost £3m of the expenditure was for the internet and 'online promotion'
  • If anyone tried to ‘buy’ this result, it was Remain
A key factor was that this mass-propaganda had the authority of the Government. It dissuaded a large number of ordinary voters whose natural inclination would otherwise have been to vote Leave. It made Remain the 'intelligent' choice, and Leave was presented as the choice for losers.
ACADEMIA MISTOOK UK TAXPAYER CASH FOR EU CASH
Some of the country's supposed brightest came out for Remain, and wrote letters to the papers which were acclaimed by No.10 and the Stronger In campaign. 103 of the country's vastly over-paid vice-chancellors were happy to sign up to a continuation of the gravy-train. In the academic world, being for Leave practically singled you out as being an idiot. In colleges and universities, openly-Leave students and staff were a minuscule albeit brave minority.
BIG BUSINESS JUST COUNTED THE CASH
 
In businesses, Leavers kept quiet for fear of their promotion prospects. Big Business in particular came out heavily for Remain, having done so well out of cheap foreign labour and their ability to lobby the EU successfully in their interests.
At some points during the campaign it seemed that hardly a day went by without some global business - or business organisation - declaring that a Remain vote was essential for everyone.
In daily life across the UK, many Leavers generally kept schtum, feeling that they ‘mustn't admit’ what they really thought.
THE BRAINWASHING DIDN'T WORK THEN, IT DOESN'T WORK NOW
In a democracy the opinion that matters is that of the electorate, not the ‘elitorate’. For the ordinary people of the United Kingdom to reject the state-sponsored attempt at brainwashing - including monstrous claims of dire consequences - and to vote for the opposite, was nothing short of a magnificent triumph for democracy.
It’s our contention that the final result of 52% would have been far higher, had people not been quite understandably dissuaded from voting Leave by the disproportionately-powerful propaganda campaign by the Government and institutions.
THE CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER
In the last few weeks we have watched debates, with the unedifying sight of MPs and peers standing up in their respective Houses of Parliament in a continuing effort to stop Brexit.
They pretend a respect for democracy and come up with all manner of jesuitical constructions to justify their actions. Very few of them will admit that they want to stop Brexit. Make no mistake, they do want to stop it.
The latest attempt involves an absurd suggestion that the UK should stay inside the EU’s Customs Union or “a” customs union. This is nothing more than a desire to water Brexit down so much that it is unrecognisable and reversible.
Daily we read or see nonsense relating to Brexit. We understand that many people find it hard to admit they were wrong about something but most people are at least able to accept decisions they didn't agree with. It's part of being a grown-up.
SHOULD WE HAVE SECOND GENERAL ELECTIONS TOO?
Every few years we have a general election. The party with around 35-45% of the popular vote wins. The majority then accept the success of a party they didn't vote for. No-one remotely suggests that the election should be held again. It's a system that has done us well for generations.
We see evidence that more and more 'ordinary people' are now accepting and getting behind Brexit. In the last year opinion polls have consistently shown that a majority of people think that the government should "get on with it" and this mood seems to be increasing.
Unfortunately a small minority continues to behave undemocratically. Many of these people are in parliament and should know better, and many more are in positions in society where we would certainly expect more from them.
Our message to these Establishment politicians, commentators, and 'celebs' is simple. You were wrong and you lost. It might take you forever to admit the former, but for heaven's sake admit and at least accept the latter now, so that we can all move forward towards a positive future for the country.
[ Sources: Too many to list ]      Journalists and politicians can contact us for the full list of links, as usual.        06.30am, 29 Apr 2018
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Name: Jon, Wales      Date/Time: 29 Apr 2018, 10.29pm
Message: BREAKING NEWS (Sunday) - UK Home Secretary has resigned and the PM has accepted her resignation. The 'people's army' must now demand a Brexiteer Home Secretary, NO IFS, NO BUTS?
Name: Jon, Wales      Date/Time: 29 Apr 2018, 9.42pm
Message: Following our clear vote to Leave the political structures of the EU in June 2016, none of which we consented to, I was one of many voices saying be prepared, for after 'fighting' to secure our referendum and vote to Leave, the real fight was about to start which may get ugly. Did I think some elected Members of Parliament would attempt to subvert a democratic vote? - No I didn't. Did I think some unelected peers would seek to do the same? - No I didn't. Yet reality has shown that some politicians cannot be trusted to uphold a democratic majority vote just because they don't like the outcome. In this regard, it matters not how people voted in June 2016, or their reasons why, but this is an 'attack' on democracy itself we must NOT allow politicians to get away with it. THEY WORK FOR US, and no matter how good or bad they are they MUST uphold a democratic vote. When MPs enter the House of Commons, they must first take an Oath or Affirm their loyalty to the Crown before they can take their parliamentary seat.
Name: Rosie, Bristol, UK      Date/Time: 29 Apr 2018, 8.22pm
Message: An impressive list, but just one little quibble: the Head of the Church of England is Christ; the Supreme Governor is the Queen; and the Primate of all England is Justin Welby.
 HOW THE GOVERNMENT
RIGGED THE REFERENDUM
FOR REMAIN
WHY THE LEAVE VICTORY WASN'T EVEN BIGGER
Almost 1m people registered for the Referendum vote in final 3 days.
2 of these days were added by the government
in an unprecedented extension to the deadline.
In early June 2016, polling had been showing that the Leave campaign might have a chance of winning. At this point there was a massive effort to persuade people to register to vote. In particular this was aimed at young people using social media.
As it got closer to the deadline for registering to vote, the Electoral Commission was producing figures showing the latest number of registrations in a day, and crucially these were divided into age categories.
On what was supposed to have been the final day to register to vote in the Referendum – 7th June 2016 - the Electoral Commission’s own figures show that over half a million people registered. Of the 525,000, over 400,000 were under 45. By this stage everyone including David Cameron’s government knew that this group were most likely to vote Remain.
The chart below shows how last minute voter registrations went on the supposed 'final day'
© Facts4EU.Org 2018
IT’S CLOSE TO MIDNIGHT...
105 minutes before the midnight deadline, at 10.15pm, the voter registration system crashed.
The next day the Electoral Commission and David Cameron’s government held emergency talks. There was a problem extending the deadline and government action was needed. As the Electoral Commission said:
“The registration deadline is set out in legislation and we have said to the Government this morning they should consider options for introducing legislation as soon as possible that would extend the deadline. We would support such a change.”
It was announced that voter registration was being extended until midnight the following day.
That’s a 48 hour extension
to compensate for only
1 hour and 40 minutes of downtime
The deadline for voter registrations was set in law, so an unprecedented emergency law had to be rushed through Parliament. It was.
WHAT HAPPENED IN THE ‘REMAIN’ HOURS?
The Government and BBC went into overdrive on Wednesday 8th June, urging people to register. Huge social media campaigns were launched, persuading young people to register to vote Remain.
During the extension period granted for voter registrations, this is what happened:
BREXIT FACTS4EU.ORG SUMMARY - THE GOVERNMENT'S "REMAIN" DAYS
  • 436,344 more people registered to vote
  • 77.3% of these people were under 45, the most likely to vote Remain
  • Only 2.8% of the extra voters were over 65, the most likely to vote Leave
The chart below shows what happened during the unprecedented 2-day extension
© Facts4EU.Org 2018
OBSERVATIONS
Naturally Remainers will say that democracy is about getting the maximum number of people possible to register and use their vote. This is certainly true.
However we have four fundamental points to make.
1.   Firstly, a deadline is a deadline. If you leave things until the last minute, tough.
2.   Secondly, the government had the data to show that people registering in the final days were highly likely to be Remain voters.
3.   Thirdly and more strikingly, when the system crashed late at night (quarter to eleven), this bias would have been even more evident. At that time of night, older voters would be highly unlikely to have been trying to register, making the likely Remain component far bigger with all the younger people registering than it was already.
Indeed this is what the figures show. The extension period resulted in only 2.8% of the extra voters being over 65.
4.   The fourth point is the crucial question of why the government and the Electoral Commission chose to extend voter registrations by a massive 48 hours, when the system had only crashed late at night, for an hour and three-quarters.
We believe that this was a cynical attempt to manipulate the vote. The government knew it was in its interests to register as many voters at the last minute as possible, because they would predominantly vote Remain.
You may or may not recall the saturation coverage the BBC and others gave to this extension of voter registration. Certainly campaigners were highly active across the country and on social media to get the Remain vote out. Leave voters, we suggest, were more committed and were far more likely to have ensured they were registered in plenty of time.
CONCLUSIONS
We consider this to have been a breathtaking abuse of power to try to fix a Remain result. This was pure gerrymandering in our opinion. There should be an enquiry, with a panel being made up of Leave and Remain supporters in equal proportions.
In the end Leave won despite the above, however the relative narrowness of the result has constantly been used by Remainers to suggest that “the country is split”. It is our view that had this disgraceful attempt to sway the vote not happened, the Leave victory would have been greater.
That said, Leave still won. And a win is a win. However this is an important issue, regardless of the fact that the attempt was ultimately unsuccessful.
We continue to demand that the government – and all MPs and peers – respect the result in full.
[ Sources: Electoral Commission | Cabinet Office ]      Journalists and politicians can contact us for the full list of links, as usual.
       07.55am, 28 Apr 2018
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READERS' COMMENTS
Please send us your comments and we will publish them here. You can of course use a pseudonym if you prefer, and it's always nice to know roughly where you're writing from. Please always state the headline of the article you're commenting on.
Name: John Finn, Coventry      Date/Time: 29 Apr 2018, 1.55pm
Message: Reply to EuropeanFreedom: To address your points.
[1] Regarding economic projections, I am a maths graduate and have some knowledge of mathematical modelling and I know that even when models use well established physical laws and base estimated parameters on thousands of data observations, there are still many uncertainties in results. Economic modelling is many times more uncertain and their results are just as likely to be completely wrong as they are to be accurate.
[2] You say MPs know more than the rest of us. No they don't. Very few have real world experience. When commenting on the recent commons vote, John Redwood correctly noted that "Most of those contributing have clearly never run a complex supply chain in their lives and have no idea how modern business works". In fact, those MPs that have most experience in business are the ones most in favour of leaving.
[3] This £350m a week for the NHS "lie" narrative is becoming tedious. I DID NOT BASE MY DECISION TO LEAVE on a slogan on the side of a bus. A slogan, by the way, which did not commit to spending the money on the NHS but simply suggested the money saved would enable us to fund the NHS. If Remainers thought that a campaign group in a referendum could dictate government spending policy then it's clear it is they who are the poorly educated ones - not the Leave voters.
Name: Patrick F, Kent      Date/Time: 29 Apr 2018, 1.10pm
Message: EuropeanunionFreedom, surely there is at least ONE tangible benefit of remaining in Europe? Apologies, I meant remaining in the EU. I think you've proved the point that when challenged many Remain voters don't know why they voted as they did. Facts4EU show on a daily basis why millions of us voted to Leave: evidence, not emotion. Remain has no case to defend. We do.
P.S. Why would Brexit be a disaster?
Name: EuropeanFreedom, UK      Date/Time: 29 Apr 2018, 10.02am
Message: It's not my job to do this. You should look at what the government said last month about the impact of Brexit.. And what about the £350 a week for the NHS? Everyone knows Brexit would be a disaster and most MPs and lords are against it and will vote against it in the next debates. They know more than you and it's not going to happen.
Name: Patrick F, Kent      Date/Time: 29 Apr 2018, 08.30am
Message: Dear EuropeanFreedom, UK
1) EuropeanFreedom, UK, or EuropeanunionFreedom, UK?
2) Please refute ONE article written by Facts4U.
3) What are the tangible benefits of remaining in the EU?
Name: Jon, Wales      Date/Time: 28 Apr 2018, 9.40pm
Message: Contributor 'EuropeanFreedom UK' sums up the usual case across social media where those having a different opinion to Brexiteers express themselves in a manner that fails to support their [often] wild claims. We should not stoop to this level of rhetoric as it proves our point. Remoaners shouted loudly for facts, yet when clear FACTS are presented in an easy to understand format, they don't like it because they can't disprove them. While I respect the right of 'EuropeanFreedom UK' to express an opposing opinion, perhaps a more intelligent way to put across their 'argument' would be to accept that 'European Freedom' is in FACT a desire held by many peoples across the continent of Europe. They want freedom from being dictated to by those they did not elect and cannot remove. Democracy itself is under 'attack' from the EU commission that imposes its own will upon British people (and upon those living in the UK legally). At present, UK Minister's are required to adapt national law to fit with EU law. The reason European Union leaders are frightened to seek consent from their own citizens in a Brexit-styled referendum regarding their EU membership, is because they consider their citizens too stupid to think for themselves (and we've heard worse). Thank goodness we're leaving this dictatorial construct.
Name: EuropeanFreedom, UK      Date/Time: 28 Apr 2018, 9.05pm
Message: I wouldn't be so sure if I were you, Patrick H. All I see here is the usual Brexit distortions. Our NHS is still waiting for any sign of it's £350 a week it was promised. Plenty of votes coming up to destroy your smugness.
Name: Patrick H, London      Date/Time: 28 Apr 2018, 4.08pm
Message: The Remoaners must be very worried about the Brexit momentum for "EuropeanFreedom, UK" to submit their ill-tempered comment on this site. Clearly, FACTS4EU is getting the message out there and they don't like it! As usual, Remoaners have no factual evidence to support their counter-arguments, just typical puerile rudeness, and loudmouth shouting... but their day is done and they know it, hence the abuse. These types of Remoaner comments make my day, as they simply reinforce my personal belief Brexiteers are winning the argument! Well done FACTS4EU, your eruditely researched facts punch holes through Remoaner sophistry, and represents the cold reality as to why we need to leave the EU post haste. Remoaner underhanded sciolistic-invented nonsense will continue, but UK citizens are just not listening any more, and that includes many intelligent and better-informed Remainers; thanks to FACTS4EU!
Name: EuropeanFreedom, UK      Date/Time: 28 Apr 2018, 1.16pm
Message: This is typical of Brexiteers. Everyone knows you only won by lying and it's ridiculous to claim otherwise. Your site is just more propaganda.
Name: Susie, Durham, UK      Date/Time: 28 Apr 2018, 11.54am
Message: I'm outraged. Was this ever reported on the BBC?
Reply: Not to our knowledge, Susie. This was our original research as with almost everything you see on our site, but as usual the BBC and other media won't report it.
Name: Stuart S, Wythenshawe, UK      Date/Time: 28 Apr 2018, 10.46am
Message: I'm shocked but I shouldn't be. Par for the course with that government then. The thing is they can't say that extending the registration was no big deal because they had to pass an emergency act of parliament to allow it to happen. Incredible. Good reporting, well done.
Name: Jon, Wales      Date/Time: 28 Apr 2018, 08.40am
Message: Brexit Facts4EU have this article just right. It was clear to most voters what Government (or others) were up to. This was an abuse of the electoral system which I complained about at the time. It's worth reminding MPs and peers the Electoral Commission changed the wording of questions placed before voters to avoid any confusion. All matters were agreed by Parliament. We should I believe make submissions to MPs whether or not a UK law should be introduced to strictly prohibit foreigners (like Soros) openly attempting to manipulate or interfere with the UK democratic process just because they have billions to play around with? In my opinion, they're well out of order.
APPEAL
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 THE EU HAS
NO MINIMUM WAGE
WORKERS’ & WOMEN'S RIGHTS COME FROM UK, NOT EU
FACTS4EU.ORG LETTER TO THOSE WHO VOTED REMAIN – No.10
(Want to start from the beginning? Click here!)
Dear Remain voter,
One of the very many myths about the EU is that it has been responsible for the minimum statutory workers' rights enjoyed in the UK today. This is often repeated, particularly by Labour and LibDem pro-Remain politicians.
But what's the truth about this? We will start by looking at possibly the most obvious and basic statutory workers' right: that of a minimum wage.
THERE IS NO EU STATUTORY REQUIREMENT TO SET A MINIMUM WAGE
Within EU treaties, laws, directives, regulations and other instruments, there is no requirement for a member state to have a minimum wage. 22 of the 28 countries do have one, but this is not currently an EU obligation. 6 member states have no minimum wage at all: Denmark, Italy, Cyprus, Austria, Finland and Sweden.
© Facts4EU.Org 2018
In January 2018, Bulgaria had the lowest gross minimum wage (£229) across the EU. 9 Member States, all also located in the east of the EU, followed with minimum wages between €400 and around €500 per month: Lithuania (£351), Romania (£358), Latvia (£377), Hungary (£390), Croatia (£405), the Czech Republic (£419), Slovakia (£421), Estonia (£439) and Poland (£441).
In 5 other Member States, located in the south of the EU, minimum wages ranged between £500 and £800 per month: Portugal (£594), Greece (£600), Malta (£656), Slovenia (£739) and Spain (£754). For the purposes of this article we have converted at the rate of £1 = €1.14 euros.
Across the 22 Member States concerned, the highest minimum wage in the EU is almost 8 times higher than the lowest. Even after adjusting for the cost of living in each country, the highest minimum wage is almost 3 times higher than the lowest. [Source: EU Commission, 2018]
BUT WHAT ABOUT ALL THE OTHER WORKERS' RIGHTS THAT COME FROM THE EU?
You will have heard pro-Remain MPs regularly telling you that it's the EU that is responsible for all the workers' rights we enjoy in the UK today. Once again we will give you facts instead of rhetoric.
BREXIT FACTS4EU.ORG SUMMARY : WORKERS' AND WOMEN'S RIGHTS
1. EU healthcare rights are way below UK standards
  • EU doesn’t generally have completely free healthcare – most people pay for top-up private insurance
  • In France it costs £26 just for 5 minutes with your GP, paid at the time
  • In many countries you pay, and get only partially reimbursed later
  • With the UK’s NHS, treatment is free at the point of delivery
2. EU workers’ rights laws are lower than UK’s
  • UK statutory paid holiday entitlement is 28 days, in EU only 20 days
  • National Minimum Wage Act 1998 – there's no minimum wage in the EU
  • Maternity leave – UK: 52 weeks, EU: 14 weeks
  • Under EU laws, the British people's rights would decrease
3. UK established workers’ rights long before EU
  • “Protection against sex, race and disability discrimination in the UK pre-dated EU law” (from TUC report)
  • Women’s rights: Equal Pay Act, Abortion Act and Divorce Reform Act were all passed before UK even joined EU
  • Sex Discrimination Act, Domestic Violence Act, Employment Protection Act – no EU involvement
  • EU’s Posted Workers Directive means EU workers can be employed in UK for fraction of the cost of UK workers
4. Finally, workers’ rights are only relevant if you have work
  • In the Eurozone, austerity has taken the jobs of millions of workers
  • You’re twice as likely to be out of work in the Eurozone
  • An entire young generation across southern Europe has been devastated by 30-50% unemployment for years
OBSERVATIONS
The EU loves to interfere in national life in its member states, particularly if it relates to the rights of individuals where it believes such interventions might allow it to present popular policies that it doesn't have to pay for. It is engaged in a constant propaganda campaign on behalf of itself.
Where it interferes in this way, it is unelected bureaucrats from the EU Commission who are making the proposals and the majority end up being accepted by the EU Council. In the individual member states, however, such proposals would ordinarily be a matter of policy. They would be in party manifestos and would come from elected politicians.
WHO PAYS FOR THESE POLICIES WITH NO ELECTORAL MANDATE?
One of the other differences between EU bureaucrats making these statutory demands and politicians of member states doing it is that the EU is not picking up the tab. The EU imposes its demands and it's the taxpayers of each country who have to pick up the bill.
In the workers' and women's rights we've highlighted above, the UK's statutory arrangements are better than those which would be applicable under EU law. This is because the EU Commission know that anything they propose must be acceptable to poorer members. However, once the principle has been established that it's the EU that sets such standards, it is only a matter of time before the levels of these rights go beyond the point where all political parties would agree with them.
They then become a further cost of being a member of the European Union.
REMAINER MISINFORMATION
In Parliament yesterday swathes of pro-Remain MPs stood up in the debate on the Customs Union and many times they trotted out the mantra that the British people had been lied to during the Referendum campaign.
Indeed the British public was lied to on a systematic and grand scale, but the vast majority of the lies came from the Remain campaign. Their claims on workers' and women's rights which we have debunked above are just one small example of this.
RELEVANCE TO THE BREXIT NEGOTIATIONS
The EU is insisting on a "level playing field" as part of the Brexit negotiations. In other words it is trying to prevent the UK from operating as an independent country in all respects, with its own taxation policies and other frameworks which would make the UK a more competitive country than those in the EU.
What could be a more obvious lack of a level playing field than that of UK businesses being forced to compete with businesses in countries with a minimum wage being 1/5th that of the UK? That is the current situation whilst the UK is still in the EU. When the UK leaves, it will still have this un-level 'playing field'.
What on earth is the government doing, being accommodating? Demands for the EU to interfere in sovereign matters for the UK should instantly be rejected out of hand.
NEXT LETTER TO THE REMAIN VOTER:
Coming soon!
[ Sources: Hansard, EC Working Time Directive 93/104/EC, TUC report 2016 on Workers’ Rights, EU Commission, Competences between UK and EU Social and Employment Policy (UK Gov’t), National Minimum Wage Act ]      Journalists and politicians can contact us for the full list of links, as usual.        06.40am, 27 Apr 2018
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READERS' COMMENTS
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Name: Michael Wood, Wales      Date/Time: 27 Apr 2018, 9.11pm
Message: The EU wants: Command. control and strict obedience!
Name: Jon, Wales      Date/Time: 27 Apr 2018, 6.24pm
Message: I was watching this charade in the House of Commons yesterday, 26th April, 2018. I am usually respectful, but I confess I became so annoyed watching these pompous self-righteous remain MPs [not all of them] attempting to subvert Brexit that I switched off their irritating drone. These taxpayer funded MPs were elected by the people under the UK democratic process, yet when the people vote in accordance with an Act of Parliament and MPs don't like the answer, they behave like children having tantrums instead of accepting the majority vote and getting behind our country as usual. I challenge ANY Member of Parliament to resign if they feel unable to uphold the largest democratic vote in British history on a very high turnout, to "Leave the European Union"? I request all MPs STOP trying to tell people what THEY 'think' we did or did not vote for in June 2016. I and others [the majority] voted to 'Leave the European Union', and I knew exactly what I voted for, but all voters knew there would be bumps along the way to exit. One extremely important reason among many others, was NOT to be governed by a foreign dictatorial EU commission we can never remove. Another easy challenge for remain MPs to answer: They MUST agree or deny the "Brexit Fact4EU.org Summary : WORKERS' AND WOMEN'S RIGHTS" in the above article. It shouldn't take remain MPs too long to answer the four points mentioned above by Facts4EU? Clearly MPs must agree to the above points?
Name: Stevie, Yorkshire      Date/Time: 27 Apr 2018, 08.46am
Message: For the people who think the EU cares about workers wages I would urge them to do a web search for 'viking line case'. This should illustrate what waits in store for workers, especially those paid higher wages in the more western nations.
Name: Norman, Taunton, UK      Date/Time: 27 Apr 2018, 08.36am
Message: I just wondered if you had thought of having an email subscription service whereby you get an automatic email of new postings to the site.
Reply: Yes Norman, but unfortunately we're just too short of resource for anything like that. That's why we have lots of appeals for donations on these pages - we hate doing that but have no choice.

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 WHEN CAMERON CONFIRMED
EU TREATY TAKES
‘MASSIVE POWERS’ FROM UK
WHAT OUR LAST PM SAID ABOUT THE EU TREATY
Back in 2009 David Cameron was the leader of the Conservative party and an aspiring Prime Minister. As such he had no hesitation in telling the British people what the EU had become and how its latest treaty (the Lisbon Treaty) was effectively a massive power grab by the EU.
It was in this video that he demanded an EU Referendum from the then Prime Minister, Gordon Brown.
Here’s Mr Cameron in 2009 :-
BREXIT FACTS4EU.ORG SUMMARY : EXCERPTS FROM DAVID CAMERON'S BROADCAST
  • “The Lisbon Treaty includes a massive transfer of powers from the nation states of Europe to Brussels”
  • It ends our veto, our right to say no, in about 60 areas”
  • “It sets up a permanent President of the EU, a Foreign Minister, a Diplomatic Service”
  • “It gives the EU the right to sign Treaties, and the right to sign new Treaties, and to pass new Treaties, new Constitutions, without asking us again, the people of Europe”
The British people were never asked to vote on the EU’s Lisbon Treaty – effectively its Constitution. Nevertheless it passed into law, transferring massive powers from UK to Brussels as David Cameron confirms.
OBSERVATIONS
We spend a lot of time on this site, researching and bringing you the facts which debunk some of the more preposterous and ignorant claims from pro-Remain MPs about the EU and Brexit.
Much of our work is concerned with quantifiable facts which we research from official EU, international, and UK government sources. What are sometimes forgotten however are the less easily quantifiable elements of why the EU is a dysfunctional, totalitarian, and unsuitable body and why the UK should have no part of it.
One example of this is above. What Mr Cameron was describing was nothing less than the abject loss of sovereignty submitted to by the British government when it signed the Lisbon Treaty. In fact it goes back further of course, as all recent treaties have involved a similar loss of powers for the UK.
Yesterday in Parliament, one after the other, pro-Remain MPs got to their feet to speak about the EU's Customs Union. Many times we heard the mantra that this was not about the people's decision to leave the EU, which they fully respect, blah, blah, blah.
Nonsense. Whilst some of the MPs are frankly too ignorant about the EU to know what they're talking about, others know full well what the EU 'project' is all about, and nothing would make them happier than to overturn the Referendum by stealth.
It is therefore very important that we continue to remind people of a major element of the question they answered in June 2016. Sovereignty was a key part. And sovereignty is what you give up by being a member of the European Union.
If we ever actually exit the EU in more than name only, we will once again be citizens of a proud, independent and sovereign nation. Now that will be something to celebrate.
[ Sources: Conservative party video via YouTube ]      Journalists and politicians can contact us for the full list of links, as usual.        06.40am, 27 Apr 2018
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READERS' COMMENTS
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Name: Jon, Wales      Date/Time: 28 Apr 2018, 07.11am
Message: Thank you for putting up the video of the former Leader of Her Majesty's Official [Tory] Opposition, then David Cameron back in 2009 demanding a referendum prior to him becoming Prime Minister. It should serve as a reminder to all MPs and peers attempting to subvert Brexit, and a gentle warning to indicate ordinary people are not stupid. I have referred countless people to this video since it was first uploaded in 2009. Mr Cameron became Prime Minister in 2010 after forming a coalition. His personal declaration in the above video was just one of many reasons his [Tory] party won the most votes in 2010, though not an overall majority. The electorate were fed up hearing politicians promise things and renege on them when in power. We heard the same old "vote for me" rhetoric, and they'll do this, that or the other, and most of it was political spin just to gain votes. The fast rise of another political party eventually 'forced' Mr Cameron into dealing with EU membership once and for all. With another "vote for me" in the 2015 general election, he would give us our hard fought for referendum as he previously, and formally stated. Worthy of note at this juncture, Mr Cameron never thought his party would win an overall majority in 2015. In other words, if he was again in coalition he would doubtless renege on his formal statement by blaming his coalition partner. This time he could not use that excuse and the Referendum Act 2015 was passed through both Houses of Parliament and granted Royal Assent. There had been decades of debates, with intense television and other debates prior to June 2016. By this time, much of the electorate had an absolute distrust of elected politicians [but not all of them] as they found themselves challenged by ordinary people. So in June 2016, "Leave the European Union" won a UK-wide democratic and legal referendum, and the issue settled. Mr Cameron had promised he would send a formal notice of leaving the following day in the event of a Leave vote, but resigned instead. The rest is history, yet we still find ourselves 'fighting' the establishment and others. I would walk away from present negotiations immediately and get on with what we want to do. I firmly believe the European Union negotiators have issued one threat too many. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!
To be honest there are no cute puppies, abandoned children
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 IRISH BORDER SOLVED
LONG AGO BY HMRC
A top civil servant to be proud of                                 © Parliament
“WE DO NOT BELIEVE WE REQUIRE ANY INFRASTRUCTURE BETWEEN NORTHERN IRELAND AND IRELAND UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.” - Jon Thompson, Head of HMRC
FACTS4EU.ORG LETTER TO THOSE WHO VOTED REMAIN – No.9
(Want to start from the beginning? Click here!)
Dear person who voted Remain,
You may have little interest in the Irish border question. However this letter to you is about more than that.
It's an example of the way in which various Brexit issues which are almost 'non-issues' are being blown up out of all proportion. The question of the land border in Ireland is easily solvable, as are all the other issues, provided people actually want to deal reasonably.
We ask you to read what follows and maybe watch at least part of the recording, and decide for yourselves if what we say is true.
IRISH BORDER AS AN EXCUSE TO PREVENT FULL BREXIT
In the early days after the Brexit vote, the EU wanted to highlight some Brexit issues where it could say it was 'protecting citizens'. One of these issues was the land border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. This had the added advantage that the EU could talk about the its supposed role in maintaining peace.
Since then, Remainer politicians in the UK have seized on this issue and wish to make it sound impossible to solve, unless the UK stays in the or 'a' Customs Union with the EU.
The reality is that this issue is perfectly solvable. However it's not in the interests of either the EU or British Remainer politicians to admit this. Below we provide evidence from the man responsible for HM Customs, showing how it can be done without undue drama.
BREXIT FACTS4EU.ORG SUMMARY
  • No infrastructure between N.I. and Ireland is required under any circumstances
  • New customs system on schedule and will be online two months before exit
  • Irish and French customs won’t discuss new arrangements with HMRC
Mr Thompson is Chief Executive and Permanent Secretary at HM Revenue and Customs, and his minister is the Chancellor, Philip Hammond. We strongly recommend viewing his testimony to the Exiting the European Union Committee, which he gave on Wednesday 29 November 2017.
PLEASE NOTE: Sometimes the House of Commons system can take a minute or two to load.
Please be patient - this video is worth watching!
SOME KEY EXCERPTS – HEAD OF HMRC – POST-BREXIT CUSTOMS & BORDERS
On the new Customs Declaration Service:
“Actually the project is completely on track. We have every confidence it will be completed by January 2019. The project has met all of its milestones in the current year. Traders will begin the migration to the new system in July 2018.”
On the Transition Period – Q: “Is it your anticipation that things will just carry on as they are at the moment?”
A: “Yes.”
Northern Ireland – Q: “The government wants no border and no infrastructure - how can the government’s policy be achieved?”
“The assumption is there’s a negotiated settlement with the EU in which the highly streamlined customs arrangement is adopted. We stay in the common transit convention, there’s mutual recognition of the authorised economic operator scheme, and so on.” [Mr Thompson refers the Committee to the government papers issued on this question in August 2017.]
“Because of the unique Northern Ireland/Ireland situation you need to add on three additional things which are set out in the NI paper.”
“First of all to maximise the authorised economic operator scheme, secondly to seek a derogation for small traders because there needs to be a recognition that the border area is very much a local economy in which traders cross the border on a regular basis, and thirdly that we would move to a system of self-assessment, which is set out in the Union Customs Code and which is very much the direction of travel for the European Union.”
“We believe that would cover the vast majority of trade between Ireland and Northern Ireland. If there were any checks they would be risk and intelligence based checks and they would take place well away from the legal border.”
Q: “In the event of no deal, would it be possible to achieve no border infrastructure?”
A: “It’s possible for the government to make a unilateral decision of what it will do at the border, which would be in line to my answer to your previous question. We do not believe we require any infrastructure between Northern Ireland and Ireland under any circumstances.”
Q: “Have you had any dealings with the Irish about this?”
A: “There are no formal conversations with either the French or the Irish. We cannot talk to Customs or taxation management organsiations in either of those countries. There are only informal conversations with the Belgians and the Dutch.”
Q: “From everything you’ve said, this isn’t much of an issue, or am I missing something? From our point of view, there’s no reason why it can’t be business as usual?”
“That is correct. That is correct. That is the consistent advice we have given ministers.”
OBSERVATIONS
A SIMPLE QUESTION
If the Irish border and customs question is as important as the EU and Remainer MPs say it is, why hasn't Mr Thompson been able to discuss it with his counterparts in the EU as part of the Brexit negotiations? Why wasn't a formal team of specialists put together last year from each side to thrash out the solution?
Mr Thompson's Irish counterpart is reported as having similar views to him so doubtless he would be keen to do this if allowed. It's almost as if the EU, the Irish government, and the Remainer politicians in Westminster do not want this issue to be resolved.
As it is, Mr Thompson has laid out the solution very clearly. It all sounds perfectly logical and all of it was issued by the UK government last summer.
POLITICAL GAMES-PLAYING
On the Irish border question as with everything else connected with Brexit, it’s perfectly obvious that political games are being played – by the EU and by Remoaner MPs.
There is ample evidence for this, including a report from the EU Parliament last year which the EU conveniently keeps forgetting about. The UK government issued two papers on how to deal with the issue last July, but the EU and Remoaner MPs keep ignoring those too.
GIVE THIS MAN THE TOP JOB
We’ve watched a LOT of Commons committees looking into Brexit. We’ve watched both ministers and civil servants answering - or generally not answering - questions.
As Chief Executive and Permanent Secretary at HM Revenue and Customs, Mr Thompson is a very senior man in Her Majesty’s Civil Service. And yet to look at and to listen to him, you would never know it.
Move aside Sir Jeremy Heywood, Head of the Civil Service. Make way for action man Thompson.
For a man without all the trappings of the ‘Sir Humphrey's’ of the Whitehall elites, (and without having been to Eton and Oxbridge), Thompson has nevertheless risen to the top job in one of the most important departments in government. To do this he must have something special. From what we can see without ever having met him, Mr Thompson has whatever this is in droves.
Every single former Cabinet Secretary now in the House of Lords voted against Brexit again last week. It is not a big jump to deduce that the current crop of senior civil servants are not particularly keen to make Brexit work.
Mr Thompson is a man who would not have left the country with no plan for a Leave result after the Referendum, as the present Head of the Civil Service did. If Thompson had been in charge, we're pretty sure the Civil Service would have been ready to leave on June 24th 2016.
NEXT LETTER TO THE REMAIN VOTER:
Coming soon!
[ Sources: Parliament ]      Journalists and politicians can contact us for the full list of links, as usual.        06.00am, 26 Apr 2018
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Name: John Finn, Coventry, UK      Date/Time: 27 Apr 2018, 11.15am
Message: Dear Facts4EU, I think the most persuasive evidence that a technological solution does exist for the Irish Border problem is the paper by Lars Karlsson (President of KGH Border Services; Former Director of World Customs Organization; Deputy Director General of Swedish Customs). The paper was commissioned by the EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT. Google "Smart Border 2.0" for a copy of the paper. The last paragraph on Page 11 is of particular interest. Apologies if you've already covered this.
REPLY: Thanks John. Yes we covered this before but perhaps should have mentioned it in the above article too, so thanks for raising it. Here is the link to the paper.
Name: Shieldsman, Surrey      Date/Time: 27 Apr 2018, 8.37pm
Message: Can any one define for me the purpose of the implementation period, during which we will be subject to 'EU aquis' and the CJEU. It appears to me we are asking for time to introduce a yet to be agreed trading and customs arrangement. The withdrawal Bill is about Parliaments (both Houses) scrutiny of and right to accept or reject the terms of the agreement. What would rejection mean?
There are areas where you are either in or out of the European Community. Membership of the European Common Aviation Area (ECAA) is such a case. 2 years after posting Article 50 we are out. We resume responsibility for negotiating Air Service Agreements as a 3rd Country, and the current ones with the EU lapse. They need to be renegotiated now, and can be completed before 29th March 2019.
Philip Hammond stressed the urgency of securing the implementation deal between Britain and the EU by the end of last month, warning that without it airlines will not know if they can safely schedule flights for spring 2019. Hammond has it wrong again as I pointed out in a previous post - Implementation Period is no universal panacea.
Putting off the negotiations into an implementation period cannot be legal. Besides the USA already accept the agreement made on our behalf by the EU will cease to be valid, hence their negotiations.
 
“EU IS AUSTRALIA'S THIRD LARGEST TRADING PARTNER.”
[EU Commission press statement last year]
 
BUT UK ACCOUNTS FOR ALMOST HALF OF AUSTRALIA'S SALES TO EU
 
AND AUSTRALIA EARNS
MORE $$$
FROM THE UK
THAN FROM THE EU27
Ever since the Brexit vote the EU has been desperately trying to play catch-up over its pitiful performance in securing trade deals. Last year as one of many announcements in a flurry of activity on trade the EU proudly announced: “The EU is Australia's third largest trading partner.”
However if you look at Australian exports, the UK accounts for almost half of Australia’s sales of goods and services to the EU28. So for Australia, when the EU28 loses the UK and becomes the EU27, the European Union plunges in size by nearly 49%.
© Facts4EU.Org 2018
BONZER NEWS ABOUT BREXIT
The good news for Australia is that the EU’s loss is Australia’s gain.
When the UK is freed from the EU’s common commercial tariffs and protectionist policies, it will become an even more attractive destination for Australian companies selling their goods and services.
Naturally it’s still worth Australia pursuing a trade deal with the EU27, if it can get them to reduce their protectionist high tariffs and the other barriers on so many goods that Australia would like to export to them. But let’s look at the facts – the EU takes years to agree trade deals. Canada’s started on 6 May 2009 - that's 9 years ago - and still hasn’t been ratified.
ALL OF AUSTRALIA'S TRADE DEFICIT WITH THE EU IS WITH THE EU27
Next let’s look at the balance of trade between Australia and the EU. In 2016, the last year for which figures are available, it was negative to the tune of A$37 billion. In other words the EU is selling Australia 37 billion dollars worth of goods and services more than Australia is selling to the EU.
However, ALL of this trade imbalance is down to the EU27, not the UK.
© Facts4EU.Org 2018
So, the UK accounts for almost half of Australia’s sales to the EU but the UK is responsible for none of the trade deficit.
WHAT ABOUT THE ‘EU’ FOREIGN INVESTMENT IN AUSTRALIA?
Over half of ‘EU’ foreign investment in Australia is actually from the UK, not the EU27
The UK accounts for half a trillion Australian dollars of foreign investment in Australia. That’s 50.5% out of the total figure for the EU28. The UK is the second-largest investor in Australia after the USA and is twice as big as the next country on the list.
© Facts4EU.Org 2018
OBSERVATIONS
We hope Australian readers find the above interesting. Throughout this piece we have used official data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the Australian Dept of Foreign Affairs and Trade, using the latest figures available. We kept this in Aussie dollars, to make things more transparent for anyone from the Australian government reading this.
It's regrettable that the EU continues to misrepresent itself to other countries. Without the UK, the EU27 are a significantly different entity, economically and in many other ways. No doubt the British government will be making this clear as time goes by.
 
“What's that Skippy? The EU Commission have fallen into an old mineshaft?”
“Okay, but I'm a bit busy right now, Skip.”
Brexit Facts4EU.Org
[ Sources: EU Commission | Australian Government Trade Dept | Australian Bureau of Statistics ]  As usual, journalists and politicians can contact us for the list of links to the research.
       06.00am, 26 April 2017
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 DAVID DAVIS - YESTERDAY
Click below to see the Rt Hon David Davis MP, Secretary of State for Exiting the EU, answering questions from the House of Commons
Exiting the EU Committee - Wed 26th Apr 2018.
This is a public service from the Brexit Facts4EU.Org team
OBSERVATIONS
Send us your comments and we will be pleased to publish them below!
[ Sources: Parliament TV ]        07.30am, 25 Apr 2018
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Name: Shieldsman, Surrey      Date/Time: 26 Apr 2018, 1.55pm
Message: Hammond's Pancea - Implementation Period: I have only just read the Guardian for 5th March - UK airlines urgently need transition deal, warns Philip Hammond. A Transition Period solves no problems, it only kicks them down the road. Article 50 was notification that on 1st April 2019 the Commission ceases to have the right to negotiate Air Service Agreements on our behalf. As we become a 3rd Country on that day the implementation could only possibly apply to our ASA's with the EU. It cannot apply to our ASA's with other 3rd Countries. In this respect negotiations with the USA are continuing to achieve a bilateral agreement. A major problem brought about by the Brussels Commission is their concluding some horizontal agreements, which are multilateral on behalf of all member states. ICAO, based on the Chicago Convention has always been bilateral between individual Countries. Nationality of ownership can be another problem.
Name: Peter Wood, Bucks      Date/Time: 26 Apr 2018, 1.14pm
Message: Please review DD's report yesterday, in respect of the timing of UK commitments and the possible FTA at time 9.22 & 10.06. It would appear that the government anticipates entering into UK law the withdrawal agreement and transition undertakings, that include the obligation to pay +/- 40 Billion Euro, in October this year. At that time all we will have in return is a 'political declaration' indicating the intention only of the EU to enter into a FTA with the UK. How can this be acceptable? Surely a conditional clause is required?
Name: Jon, Wales      Date/Time: 25 Apr 2018, 7.29pm
Message: I watched the select committee session several times and am unsure what to make of the Rt Hon David Davis MP giving evidence on this occasion. He clearly needs to be careful what he says as the 'other side' would doubtless have watched him. The chair of the Select committee, the Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP, was a tad discourteous towards David Davis at the start. Hilary Benn was politely informed by David Davis that his time was limited due to meetings which he disclosed at the outset, and I found nothing wrong with his disclosure. Other dates can be set up but Brexit comes first. It was clearly evident remain MPs were trying to find any way they could to throw a spanner in the works! I have one massive issue - We will exit the EU 29th March 2019, yet for the following couple of years we will be governed by a foreign power without a shot being fired? I look at the following scenario where we won WW2 to defend our country from from rule and protected our freedoms. We also helped liberate the continent. If we didn't defend our country back then, life today would be extremely different. So we MUST consider WHY are we allowing UK politicians to give EU bureaucrats governance over our country during this so-called 'implementation period', when you can be almost certain the EU commission will ram through as many laws as they see fit in order to damage OUR country. Prime Minister May must stop this in its tracks and learn to SAY NO? We voted to exit, not be governed by the EU in any shape or form.
 UK IS USA'S TOP CUSTOMER
IN THE EU
Official US data shows why President Trump
is keen to do trade deal with UK
FACTS4EU.ORG LETTER TO THOSE WHO VOTED REMAIN – No.8
(Want to start from the beginning? Click here!)
Dear Remain voter,
The UK is the top customer for American products, according to official data from the US Census Bureau.
BREXIT FACTS4EU.ORG SUMMARY - 2016 FIGURES
  • 20.5% of all US goods exported to the EU were bought by the UK
  • UK customers bought 12% more than the Germans
  • 79% more than the French
  • Over 3 times more than the Italians
Chart © Facts4EU.Org 2018
The UK bought $55.4 billion of American goods – more than any other EU country.
OBSERVATIONS
The EU remains keen to do a trade deal with the US, after the spectacular implosion of the much-vaunted and long-awaited ‘TTIP’ deal in 2016, which President Obama had been anxious to complete before leaving office.
Our American readers will no doubt be interested to know that the EU market for American products will be only 79.5% of its current size, once the UK exits the EU in 2019. We also hope that our British readers who voted Remain in the Referendum in 2016 will appreciate just how important a player the UK is on the world stage - despite having been told the opposite for years by the EU-supporting Establishment in the UK.
No other EU country is as important to exporters of American products as the UK. Naturally the EU27 remains a very important market for the US, but given the complexities of trying to negotiate with the EU it’s not surprising that the US Trade Dept is keen to agree a deal with the UK as soon as possible.
NEXT LETTER TO THE REMAIN VOTER:
[ Sources: US Census Bureau ]     Journalists and politicians can contact us for the full list of links, as usual.
       06.55am, 25 Apr 2018
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 ONLY 5% OF TOTAL
N. IRELAND GOODS SALES
GO TO REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
HOW EUROPHILES ARE PLAYING POLITICS
FACTS4EU.ORG LETTER TO THOSE WHO VOTED REMAIN – No.9
(Want to start from the beginning? Click here!)
Dear Remain voter,
For the last two years the EU has been using the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland as a major tool to cause trouble in the Brexit negotiations.
Brexit Facts4EU.Org has analysed the latest sets of figures available from a variety of official sources, to put this into context for you in terms of trade. Below is a very simple graph showing the dimension of Northern Ireland’s exports to its southern neighbour.
Chart © Facts4EU.Org 2018
BREXIT FACTS4EU.ORG SUMMARY - NORTHERN IRELAND GOODS SALES
  • NI total sales of goods and services in 2016: £68.9bn
  • Total sales of goods: £49.4 bn
  • External sales of goods: £18.8bn
  • Sales of goods to GB: £11bn
  • Export of goods (excluding GB): £7.8bn
  • Export of goods to ROI: £2.4bn
  • That’s 5% of total NI sales of goods
Important caveat: Some of the above figures are provisional and they come from two official sources we have had to combine, to bring you something meaningful. For the figures to match this is 2016 data.
THE EXISTING BORDER
Goods crossing the border already require the use of controls by both governments which these days involve mostly electronic filing of information.
Smuggling has always been rife across the border and there are already controls in place to try to mitigate this.
When it comes to people, a Common Travel Area has existed since the 1920s - long before both countries joined the EEC (forerunner to the EU) in 1973. There is no intention on either side to change this arrangement.
OBSERVATIONS
There is currently a border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
We’ll repeat that. There is currently a border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
It happens to be a border at which there are no customs and passport posts, but it exists nonetheless. It exists partly because – irrespective of the Good Friday Agreement – this is a border between the two separate countries of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. Borders like this exist elsewhere within the EU and with some of its neighbours, so it is nothing new.
It exists because there are already disparities between the legal and financial systems on each side of the border. These include the two different governments, the two currencies, different corporation tax rates, different VAT rates, some excise duties, and the jurisdiction of criminal law.
In other words, there are systems already in place to deal with the fact that each country is different. All that is required post-Brexit are some additional measures which will take place at a significant distance from the border.
REMAINER MPs AND THE EU ELITES SHOULD HANG THEIR HEADS IN SHAME
We are not naïve about the Irish border issue, nor about the sometimes Alice in Wonderland world of politics on the island of Ireland. Unlike many pro Remain MPs and commentators, some of our team has previously spent time in NI, as with so many of the regions of the EU we write about.
There are many small issues which need to be resolved following Brexit but these are all surmountable provided people are not playing games. This, regrettably, is what has been taking place.
We find it morally reprehensible that the EU and the Republic of Ireland have been using this issue as a weapon. They have caused undue worry to the people of both sides of the border and have needlessly called into question the entirety of the relative peace that has been achieved there.
In this article we have brought you some basic data on the trade in goods between the two countries, to demonstrate that – whilst a new system needs to be put in place – the size of the issue in terms of trade is not that great.
A NOTE ABOUT THE STATITICS
Producing an article like this looks fairly simple. The problem is with the data.
As with everything concerned with the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, analysing the data on cross-border trade is complicated. There are numerous official sources of data, including HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), Northern Ireland Statistics & Research Agency (NISRA), Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland (DAERA), and the Central Statistics Office of the Republic of Ireland.
In the next article we will bring you damning evidence to demonstrate how this issue can be dealt with, from the official body responsible for customs at this border.
NEXT LETTER TO THE REMAIN VOTER:
Coming soon!
[ Sources: Office for National Statistics | HMRC | NISRA | Irish Statistical Office | NI Assembly ]
     Journalists and politicians can contact us for the full list of links, as usual. ]
       06.55am, 25 Apr 2018
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Name: Brexiteer, Braintree, Essex      Date/Time: 25 Apr 2018, 4.14pm
Message: It's twenty years of relative peace in Northern Ireland. If you analyse the history of the troubles which began in the late 1960's everything has changed. Discrimination of Catholics for jobs and in housing, new police service in NI, the victim and grievance culture before, is not there now. The IRA's main leaders are either dead or retired, there is a generation of young people who have had peace. It would be difficult to restart conflict, besides the security authorities have so much information on all of us, any future leaders trying to instigate insurrection would be easy to identify. Perhaps we should just call the EU's bluff, say no border issues are relevant and we are leaving the customs union and single market, take it or leave it. Great Britain wants to become an independent country again.
Name: John Finn, Coventry      Date/Time: 25 Apr 2018, 09.57am
Message: We see lots of comparisons of trade between the UK and other EU countries. What I find difficult to assess is the "type" of trade. I'd be interested in knowing the effect of an extreme scenario in which all trade ceased between the UK and Ireland. For example, Could NI make up the shortfall from the loss of trade with RoI by selling more to mainland Britain - because Britain was not importing from RoI. My own feeling is that the EU doesn't work particularly well (for us) because our major economies are too similar. We sell cars to Germany - they sell more cars to us. The same goes for a lot of foodstuffs. Ok - we might get a bit more choice but at the end of the day - a car is a car and cheese is cheese.
PLEASE HELP US TO
WIPE THE SMILES OFF THEIR FACES
We are a small but committed and determined team.
You haven't given up fighting for the clean Brexit you voted for.
Together we're up against a vast army of UK & EU propagandists.
All we have here are our honest tools - research, compelling daily content, simple charts - and our most important resource - you.
 
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 WORKING TOGETHER
FOR BREXIT
Regular readers know that the Brexit Facts4EU.Org team have always been open to, and enthusiastic about, working with other Brexit organisations – and even to becoming the research, news & facts service for any of the larger ones with big funding.
We remain the only Brexit organisation researching and publishing important and original fact-based articles on a daily basis. And yet we are doing so on a fraction of the budget of the larger organisations.
We see several sites providing short digests of news with links to mainstream newspaper articles, or sites with articles from politicians and commentators, but it's hard to find original information in a presentable form which they've researched themselves from official sources.
We believe that the British public has been starved of basic, easily-understood facts about Brexit and they want information presented in a clear way - hence our bullet-point boxes and simple charts. Anyone can write 3,000 word essays, but very few people read these in our experience. Researching and condensing complex issues into punchy pieces takes far longer but we believe it's worth it. Certainly we know that our work is used by politicians.
One 'established' group that helped us was Campaign for an Independent Britain, who were the only ones to support us during the Referendum campaign in early 2016. Sadly, our overtures to other Brexit organisations have not resulted in much, but at least we make the effort.
WORKING WITH FISHING FOR LEAVE
That said, we have recently had success with Fishing for Leave, with whom we have built a constructive relationship, and we were able to support their recent series of protests around the country. We continue to support their campaign wherever possible.
We have had dialogue with other organisations and hope one day this might translate into something tangible, before we eventually have to shut up shop for lack of sufficient funding.
NOTE TO BREXIT ORGANISATIONS:
We remain open to offers to become your research, facts and news arm!
BETTER OFF OUT
As a result of another initiative by us to ‘reach out’, today we can bring you an article from the Director of Better Off Out and The Freedom Association, Rory Broomfield.
Better Off Out is the arm of The Freedom Association which was set up to concentrate on Brexit. These two organisations share our belief in a true, clean Brexit and like us they see no need for a ‘Transition Period’ – effectively Mrs May’s way of delaying Brexit by almost a further 2 years.
We are pleased to bring you their thoughts in a guest article below, on the games being played in Brussels.
       06.55am, 24 Apr 2018
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Name: Tommy, Germany      Date/Time: 24 Apr 2018, 1.34pm
Message: To raise money I suggest you contact Aaron Banks or some of the other supporters mentioned in his book - The Bad Boys of Brexit published by Biteback Publishing. Good luck.
Reply: Thanks Tommy. Been there, tried that. Those guys have already donated a huge amount to the cause so you can't blame them for being happy with funding their existing set-up.
Name: Big Mach, Wilmslow, UK      Date/Time: 24 Apr 2018, 11.47am
Message: As a member of the Freedom Association and a donor to this site, I am delighted at the links you now have with the TFA. The Brexit groups need to seek alliances in the way that the Remainers have done. The first class research done by facts4eu is presented in a form which I can distribute on Facebook and Twitter. My particular thrust at the moment is to counter the notion that we were the sick man of Europe in 1973, pointing out that a growth rate of 3.5% from 1949 to 1973 was better than the 2.5% from '73 to '92. (Those 3.5% figures were my calculation from the ONS figures. The growth rate figures from '93 to'17 of 2.2% knock holes in the argument that we have benefited from membership of the Internal Market. The Remainers find great difficulty in countering arguments based on numbers. There are two other sites which I visit, which have excellent well researched papers and they are Legatum and Civitas, although their information needs to be digested a little before presentation to the general public. There are a number of Freedom events around the country at which a contribution from a member of facts4eu may well be of some benefit. Perhaps Simon could arrange that. A presentation based on numbers would hit the ball out of the park. I am going to the events at Derby and Chester. Would be great to see you there.
Reply: Thanks for your kind words, Big Mach. Sounds like you're doing good work. We will keep everyone posted about future co-operations with the Freedom Association and other groups. Incidentally, we had a figure for average annual growth of 3.3% for 1949-1972, not 3.5%, but we never used this figure anywhere so we would have to check. Are you sure about your 3.5%?

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 BARNIER'S GAME TO GAIN BREXIT IN NAME ONLY
GUEST ARTICLE
BY RORY BROOMFIELD,
DIRECTOR,
BETTER OFF OUT
Barnier's new demands to try and tie the UK to the EU's taxation policies illustrates a test for the UK government. It is also a game that Barnier is playing to ensure Brexit in name only (BRINO) and something the UK government must resist.
We have entered the last leg of talks between the UK and the EU concerning a trade agreement. According to press reports, David Davis believes that the deal is 90% done and his department has sent 100s of civil servants to Brussels in order to close the deal before the October deadline.
Although there are worries over whether the civil servants will see Theresa May's Brexit adviser, Olly Robbins, as the boss instead of Davis, the DExEU department may have more worries to contend with from the other side of the negotiation table.
Barnier, the EU's chief negotiator, has told the EU's press core that he wants a 'non-regression clause' that would tie the UK to adopting EU red tape and taxation policies. The move could even lead to the UK being compelled to follow new EU tax standards after March 2019, throughout the so-called 'transition period' (the delaying period) and beyond.
This new demand is completely unacceptable and Barnier knows it. The fact is the demand is incompatible with both the Brexit vote and the government's demands for UK parliamentary control on legislation after Brexit. However, Barnier is playing a game: one that tries to have the UK remain as close to the EU as possible.
It is undeniable that the EU 'won' in the negotiations regarding the delaying period. It won on fishing, on payments, on the fact that the UK will remain tied to the EU's so-called Single Market and Customs Union until the end of 2020. The main piece of good news on the UK's side is that we can negotiate deals with other countries (though they will only come into effect after the delaying period has ended).
But this is the point: although Barnier has claimed that neither he nor the EU believes the UK will change its mind on Single Market and Customs Union membership, he says that it will have the right to do so from now until the end of the delaying period. If the UK 'changes its mind' and adopted the Norway Option (a situation that remainers called 'Fax Democracy' in the lead up to the Brexit vote), it would ensure that the UK didn't just take on board EU tax policies but that we would be taking 'dictation' on rules (as former Prime Minister David Cameron mentioned) from the EU.
The British people do not want to be rule-takers from the EU;
we want to be rule-makers for ourselves.
That is one of the key reasons why we voted Leave. Notwithstanding that, for political reasons the government - David Davis in particular - wants a fully agreed trade deal by October 2018 and signed off by March 2019.
This is, however, not the EU's plan. The EU wants agreement on a resolution of 'high principles' - often called a 'memorandum of understanding' - between the UK and the EU, and negotiate the detail throughout the delaying period after March 2019. As such, Barnier is going to make it harder and harder for the UK to sign a deal and, in doing so, place demands like this 'non-regression clause' on the UK to try and tie it to the EU as much as possible.
This is a game that Barnier is playing to try and ensure that we have 'Brexit in name only'. In doing so, he's asking that in exchange for a deal this October, the UK signs away its freedoms or, instead, follow the EU's plan and negotiate throughout the delaying period - allowing more time for the EU to try and wreck Brexit and tie the UK to the infrastructure of the EU.
We say to that: Barnier, we know your game.
We say to the government: put aside your desire for a deal at all costs and stand up to these bullies. Remember, no deal is better than a bad deal.
By Rory Broomfield, Better Off Out
BREXIT FACTS4EU.ORG'S OBSERVATIONS
Only yesterday, Monsieur Barnier was reinforcing the warnings contained in Rory Broomfield's article above. In a speech in Hannover Messe he declared:
“And we have made good progress, in particular... by agreeing on a transition period of 21 months after the UK's withdrawal, during which all benefits and obligations of EU membership will still apply to the UK – even if, as a third country, it will not take part in the decision-making process anymore.”
Talking about the future trading relationship between the EU and the UK, Barnier once again set out the EU's demands to his German audience:-
“Finally, given the UK's geographic proximity and economic ties with the EU, the future relationship must be based on a strong level playing field.
“It is in our economic interest – in your businesses' interest – not to be undercut by unfair competition. So there will be no ambitious partnership without common ground on competition and state aid, social and environmental standards, and guarantees against tax dumping. This will require adequate enforcement and dispute settlement mechanisms.
“And let me add that these questions are not only economic or social, but also political.”
There is no doubt whatsoever that the EU intends the UK to be locked into all obligations of membership during the Transition Period, and afterwards to ensure that it cripples the UK's ability to manoeuvre as an independent trading nation.
FINALLY
We thought you might like a change from our own thoughts and considered that Rory's views make good reading. This article was first published on The Freedom Association website.
The Freedom Association's specialist website for Brexit - 'Better Off Out' - is well worth a read.
We would like to thank Simon Richards, Chief Executive of The Freedom Association, and Rory and the team at Better Off Out, for their warm and friendly response and for being open to the overture. We look forward to cooperating with them more in the future. After all, we're all on the same side!
[ Sources: Rory Broomfield, Better Off Out ]
     Journalists and politicians can contact us for the full list of links, as usual. ]
       06.55am, 24 Apr 2018
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Name: Brexiteer, Braintree, Essex, UK      Date/Time: 24 Apr 2018, 1.03pm
Message: If we adopt the proposals by Barnier we will not have left the EU. Barnier and the EU wants an "independent UK", to have the same tax rates, corporation tax rates as the EU and be bound by the ECJ. Forget it. All he wants is the UK not to compete with the existing EU countries. His free market ideas are that there must be no competition with the rigged EU market. Dream on - the EU customs union and other protectionist policies are the reason that the EU 27 countries share of world trade is falling. Independence means just that. You are independent of any other group of countries if you wish to be. The UK tax rates and laws should be determined by an UK government, responsible to an UK electorate.
Name: Susie, Durham, UK      Date/Time: 24 Apr 2018, 12.49pm
Message: Good article by Mr Broomfield, thank you. Very nice to see that Facts4EU and Better Off Out are pulling together. Don't you think we need more of this?
   
THE USA IS THE UK'S
BIGGEST
CUSTOMER
 
USA BUYS MORE THAN TWICE AS MUCH
FROM THE UK THAN ANY EU COUNTRY
FACTS4EU.ORG LETTER TO THOSE WHO VOTED REMAIN – No.7
(Want to start from the beginning? Click here!)
BREXIT FACTS4EU.ORG SUMMARY
  • Trade with the US is worth double that of any EU country
  • UK’s trade surplus with the US is higher than with any EU country
  • “The US is the country from which the UK earns the most through trade”, says ONS
  • Exports to the US are growing 4 times faster than to the EU
THE UK EARNS MORE FROM THE USA THAN FROM THE EU
“The US is the country from which the UK earns the most through trade”, says ONS.
Exports to the US in 2016 were worth £100 billion, more than twice as much as exports to any other country.
With imports from the US totalling £66 billion, the trading relationship with the US is excellent. The UK ran a trade surplus with the US of £34 billion in 2016 - by far the highest of any country we do business with. The UK also runs a trade surplus with 66 other countries.
By contrast, it’s the opposite story when it comes to the EU.
With the EU27, the UK's deficit in 2016 alone was a massive -£82bn.
This is how much more they sold to us than we sold to them.
Chart © Facts4EU.Org 2018
So, whilst the UK sells more to the EU27 as a bloc than to the US, the UK earns far more from the USA than from the EU.
WHERE ARE THE UK'S SALES GROWING FASTER - THE EU OR THE USA?
Below we present another unique and extraordinary chart for you. Since 2010, the UK’s exports of goods and services to the US have risen by almost 41%.
Chart © Facts4EU.Org 2018
Unfortunately when it comes to the EU27 the picture is rather different, with an increase of less than 9%.
In other words the UK’s sales to the US are growing over four times faster to the US than to the EU27.
OBSERVATIONS
Strangely the USA does not require the UK to become a member of its Single Market.
Nor does it require freedom of movement, nor a payment of £10bn per year, nor does it insist on making laws for the UK, and nor does the UK’s Supreme Court have to give up its sovereignty to the US Supreme Court.
In fact all that happens is that British businesses trade with American ones, just like people do all around the world. Simple.
NEXT LETTER TO THE REMAIN VOTER:
[ Sources: HM Government Pink Book 2017 ]     Journalists and politicians can contact us for the full list of links, as usual.
       06.55am, 24 Apr 2018
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Name: Susie, Durham, UK      Date/Time: 24 Apr 2018, 1.11pm
Message: My family and I voted leave because of freedom, independence, democracy, sovereignty, immigration, control of our borders etc. You always surprise me with things I didn;t know about the other side and especially financial things. I never knew how important America was for example and it's so obvious now how much we were constantly lied to by the other side. I really liked your article about the economy';s growth rate before and after the single market started. How are the remainers going to answer that I wonder? I still don't expect things will be easy when we leave but i'm sure we can get through it and it will be worth it.
 THE SINGLE MARKET ISN’T ABOUT TRADE, IT’S ABOUT POLITICS
                              © EU Council
FACTS4EU.ORG LETTER TO THOSE WHO VOTED REMAIN – No.5
(Want to start from the beginning? Click here!)
Dear Remain voter,
Below are some important general points about the EU's 'Single Market', which we hope you will find interesting. In the following article we then show you how the UK's exports to the EU are falling, and we look at whether the UK's growth has benefited by being a member of the Single Market.
1. No other trading bloc in the world:
  • Demands political obedience
  • Demands open borders
  • Imposes its own social laws on members
  • Imposes its tax system on members
  • Imposes its own court
  • Has its own (failing) currency
  • Is forming its own army
  • Demands £10bn per year membership fee
The ‘Single Market’ should really be called the ‘Single Government’
2. Despite the hype, there's no visible effect on the UK’s growth rate in 25 years
  • 25 years is surely long enough to see the effects of this 'Single Market'?
  • In the article below we show you the falling growth since the Single Market started
  • If the Single Market is so essential, why didn't UK's growth rate jump?
3. Single Market is based on goods, not services - only 21% of UK economy is goods
  • Previous Governments (including Messrs Osborne and Cameron) talked of the EU 'completing the Single Market' as being vital
  • What they mean is that it should have been extended to cover services long ago
  • Services make up almost 80% of UK economy
  • In 25 years, the EU still has no effective single market in services
  • Generally in the EU, when something's in the UK's interests, it doesn't get done
4. Single Market is intrinsically bound into EU Membership
  • The term 'Single Market' doesn't appear anywhere in the EU treaties
  • Instead it is referred to as the 'internal market'
  • It includes the 4 freedoms - goods, services, capital and people - and requires being subject to the European Court of Justice
  • The EU legal database contains 31,483 documents relating to the internal market - Treaties, International agreements, Legislation, EFTA documents, Consolidated legislation, Preparatory acts, EU case law, Directives, Judgements, Decisions etc
5. Over 160 countries trade happily with the EU, without joining the Single Market
  • When the UK leaves the EU, trade will carry on
  • If the EU continues to play politics with EU citizens' jobs, the UK will trade on WTO terms
  • Even falling back on WTO arrangements will still be better than the current system
  • No more mass immigration, no more EU-imposed laws, no more EU politics
  • Just good profitable trade, the way the rest of the world has done it for years
NEXT LETTER TO THE REMAIN VOTER:
(See below for the next piece in this great series!)
       06.30am, 23 Apr 2018
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 THE GREAT SINGLE MARKET CON-TRICK
HOW THE FIGURES SIMPLY DON’T STACK UP
FACTS4EU.ORG LETTER TO THOSE WHO VOTED REMAIN – No.6
(Want to start from the beginning? Click here!)
Dear Remain voter,
May we beg your indulgence for a couple of minutes and give you some numbers? We’ll stick to the main ones you might want to know and we’ll try not to bore you.
We looked at the latest information from the Office for National Statistics released in the last 3 months. Here is a summary of the figures:
BREXIT FACTS4EU.ORG SUMMARY
  • UK’s exports to the EU fell from 55% in 1999 to 43% in 2016
  • It’s worse: the ONS say approx 50% of goods going to Holland are for onward shipment to non-EU
  • In reality they believe the EU’s share of UK goods exports is approximately 4% less than stated
  • Average UK growth rates have fallen since the start of the Single Market, not risen
Chart © Facts4EU.Org 2018
HOW MUCH OF OUR ECONOMY DEPENDS ON TRADING WITH THE EU?
Listening to pro-Remain MPs you would think half the British economy was trading with the EU. In fact only 7.4% of UK GDP comes from selling goods to the EU.
Estimates for the number of businesses involved in exporting to the EU vary, but HMRC believe the figure to be just 5% of the total.
HOW MUCH HAS THE SINGLE MARKET HELPED UK GROWTH?
Putting it simply, it hasn’t. Below is a chart of the UK’s annual GDP growth rates since the Single Market started in 1993 – 25 years ago. The dotted red line is the trend line and the chart speaks for itself.
Chart © Facts4EU.Org 2018
SOME MORE QUICK & SIMPLE FACTS ABOUT THE SINGLE MARKET
  • The UK will still trade with EU countries after leaving the EU – deal or no deal
  • Over 160 countries trade with the EU - without membership of the Single Market
  • After 25 years, it still doesn’t work – ‘unfinished and stalled’ [Major OECD report, 2016]
  • It’s in 31,500 EU legal documents, so it’s an integral part of EU membership [Eur-Lex database]
  • The UK’s growth rate has slowed since 1993 when the Single Market started [ONS data]
  • Only 5% of UK businesses use the Single Market anyway [HMRC estimate]
  • The Single Market comes with unlimited immigration and subjection to EU laws.
OBSERVATIONS
We hope the above gives you some basic information in order to put everything into context.
The above data is incontrovertible. The importance of the Single Market to the UK has been plummeting. Taking into account the ‘Rotterdam effect” (of onward shipment to the rest of the world), the EU’s share of UK exports is now only around 40% of the total.
Just looking at the numbers on their own we are hard pushed to see why anyone should be so desperate to stay in the Single Market, given all the loss of freedoms it entails. In fact the only rational explanation is that the Single Market is being used as a ruse by Remoaner politicians to keep the UK wedded to the EU.
Staying in the Single Market simply isn’t Brexit in any way. It is an integral part of EU membership.
We hope that you, as a reasonable person, will look at the data we are providing from official sources, and conclude that it really is difficult to see any reason why the UK should want anything to do with the Single Market – even if it weren’t so heavily tied up in EU membership.
  • The UK will still trade with EU countries after leaving the EU – deal or no deal
  • In many ways the Single Market is the EU: bureaucratic, dictatorial, and dysfunctional
  • It determines what we produce, how we work, and what we can buy
  • The Single Market isn’t a market, it’s about politics, rules, and centralised power
  • The British people voted to leave this behind, to be independent, and to go global
  • To say anything else is a deliberate attempt to deceive and manipulate
NEXT LETTER TO THE REMAIN VOTER:
[ Sources: Office for National Statistics Jan-Mar 2018 ]
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       06.30am, 23 Apr 2018
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PLEASE HELP US TO
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We are a small but committed and determined team.
You haven't given up fighting for the clean Brexit you voted for.
Together we're up against a vast army of UK & EU propagandists.
All we have here are our honest tools - research, compelling daily content, simple charts - and our most important resource - you.
 
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 YOU’RE AN ORDINARY MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC WHO VOTED REMAIN
This series of articles is emphatically not aimed at the small minority of people – from Westminster, the media, and the elite professions – who will be anti-Brexit no matter what facts are presented to them. They have their own reasons for being pro-EU, and nothing we present by way of cold, hard facts will make any difference to these people.
No, these articles are aimed at you, an ordinary member of the public who voted Remain based on the balance of all the things you were told by both sides.
Many of you have been becoming increasingly concerned that none of the threats from the Remain side have come remotely true since the Referendum. An increasing number of people are now questioning whether they were given the wrong information.
IT’S NEVER EASY WHEN YOU THINK YOU MIGHT WANT TO CHANGE YOUR MIND
Saying you got it wrong is never easy. However we would suggest that you didn’t “get it wrong”, but that you were given the wrong information. If you voted based on things that simply weren’t true, that doesn’t mean you got it wrong. It means you were misled.
All we ask is that you keep an open mind while we show you some basics about EU membership – the things that matter to ordinary people in the United Kingdom. We genuinely hope that as many people as possible will go into Britain’s bright Brexit future full of confidence that it’s the right thing, and full of optimism for the country’s prospects.
Yesterday we showed you how the UK is a much more powerful global force than you’ve been led to believe. We also showed how Brexit to the EU is equivalent to its economic size being reduced by 18 member states all leaving at once. (Scroll down for these pieces.)
We did this so that you understand why so many Brexiteers are angry at Mrs May for behaving like the poor supplicant in Brexit negotiations, rather than the leader of a proud and successful nation on the global stage.
This morning we give you the first in our letters to you about the Single Market – mainly because pro-Remain MPs never stop talking about it. This first piece relates to one simple measure which you will find surprising. Future letters to you on other aspects of the Single Market will astonish you even more.
And don’t forget that all our work is based on in-depth research using official government and EU sources. We hope you find our series of letters interesting food for thought.
A NOTE TO PRO-BREXIT READERS
None of our work will do any good unless these facts and figures are spread far and wide. Thank you very much to those of you who started doing this yesterday.
We do have one request, however. Everyone is aware of the small but very vocal minority of often unpleasant Remoaners out there. Please do not re-tweet these articles to them. All that happens is that they then clog up our social media work with rubbish and we don't have time for that. This started happening to us yesterday, alas. Let's face it, neither you nor we will ever convert these fanatics so why bother trying?
We are simply trying to provide clear and simple articles covering the basic information which ordinary members of the public might want to read. These are people who voted based on a balance of all the information they were given. The vast majority of Remain voters are not and never will be Remoaners.
Many of them are now starting to realise just how much they were lied to. They are rational, normal people who perhaps saw rather more of the Remain propaganda and less of the information which the Leave side produced.
We are simply trying to redress the balance.
NEXT LETTER TO THE REMAIN VOTER:
       06.55am, 22 Apr 2018
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Name: Patrick H, London      Date/Time: 23 Apr 2018, 5.43pm
Message: W.Alkaway, Essex, makes an excellent point, with which I concur! These are the same discussions held within my own circle of friend, colleagues and family. So I took the opportunity today, to speak to a well-informed Lebanese business leader who sells services/products across the Middle East. He has a substantial knowledge of the Middle Eastern political scene and an excellent insight into the Syrian fiasco/catastrophe. In summary, he believes the Russian spy story in the UK is simply a cover to justify nefarious "Blairesque" activities in a foreign land. In short, to initiate a strike on Syria (using the unsubstantiated "Blairesque" Gas attack by Assad, supported by Russia). With, interestingly, the additional benefit of shifting the UK peoples' attention away from the current T. May lead incompetent Brexit negotiating debacle? Geo-Politics is a filthy dangerous business, but one's own Government "deep" lies to the electorate are perhaps worse! T. May must go!
Name: W.Alkaway, Essex, UK      Date/Time: 22 Apr 2018, 9.21pm
Message: Theresa May and her Government and Civil Service continually appear to lie to us. For example, the Skripal father and daughter poisoning. BZ, found in blood samples, as identified by an independent Swiss Lab, is not made in Russia, or the USSR, but IS made in the UK and US. Do we not need an explanation? Why we are fed spin stories about poisoned cereal, then a claim it was poison on the front door handle. to the need, nearly 6 week later, to have a massive clean up of parts of Salisbury? The Skripals were found slumped on a bench in Salisbury about 6 weeks ago. No cases of people being poisoned in all that time. Who do they think they are kidding? How did both father and daughter survive Novichok poisoning, supposedly? It's deadly. And shipping them out of the UK to the US gets the story wiped clean, and forgotten. There were no other admissions to hospital apart from one police officer; and he hasn't been seen since. And the latest, Read All About It!... the UK Police are pointing a finger at someone who flew out of the UK to Russia. Really? And it is unlikely, we are told, we can extradite this person back to the UK to face trial. How convenient! Excuse me if I am less then convinced by all of this. And very soon after this incident we learn that a hasty T. May used this poison story to blame Russia for chemical attacks on children in Syria. What was the corroboration? None at the time T. May took only a few days to make the decision herself to send in RAF fighters to bomb parts of Syria. Really? Any sane and sensible leader would wait for verification first. The woman is power crazy and deluded and dangerous. I suspect, she and her advisors are attempting to manipulate us all. A sinister game to play.
And how about T. May's clear lies to us about leaving the EU, following the Referendum result? She has done nothing except capitulate to the numerous EU demands. And yet she can send in jets to bomb another country. So, we cannot say she is weak, far from it. So, with no appetite to give us a clean break we demanded, with no understanding of the principle of Democracy, do we all agree she is unsuitable for the post of Prime Minister? We must move on. Only a loyal leader as Prime Minister, who puts Britain and its people first, will do.
 A KILLER QUESTION
ABOUT BREXIT
                              © BBC
FACTS4EU.ORG LETTER TO THOSE WHO VOTED REMAIN – No.4
(Want to start from the beginning? Click here!)
Dear Remain voter,
Welcome to our fourth open letter to people who voted Remain in 2016. This one starts to look at the Single Market, which has been the subject of unending debate ever since the Referendum.
“Dear Brexit Facts4EU.Org team,
“I will be in the audience of BBC Question Time next week. I voted Remain on the balance of what I learnt, not out of a particularly strong love of the EU.
“Can you give me a killer question to ask about Brexit? Something that requires a factual answer instead of waffle?
“Yours faithfully,
“Someone who voted Remain”
[Note: Imaginary email for purposes of article]
OKAY, HERE’S A SUGGESTION
“I was told – and still am being told – that it’s essential that the UK stays in the Single Market for the economy and jobs. I know the Single Market was 25 years old last year.
“Can you please tell me by how much the UK’s economy grew on average, for the 25 years before and after the Single Market started? I need the two actual average growth rates for the periods before and after, not waffle please.”
WHY YOU WON’T GET AN ANSWER
There are two main reasons you will not get an answer to your question:-
  1. Ignorance - most Remain MPs don't actually know many facts about the EU
  2. The answer doesn’t support their claims
We can guarantee that no Remain-supporting MP or campaigner will be able to answer that question. And in the unlikely event they knew the answer they would not want to give it to you.
What you are asking is perfectly reasonable, isn’t it? After all, if the Single Market is so essential for jobs and the economy that no-one ever seems to stop talking about it, then MPs and Remain campaigners must have facts on which to base their certainty, mustn’t they?
To get around waffle your question asks for one basic measure. You want to know the quantifiable effect the Single Market has had on the British economy. If it’s such a great thing, then it should be possible to see increased growth after it started. This is what the EU promised and still claims today.
Many factors affect economic growth of course, but as Single Market membership is apparently such a huge and essential thing for the UK, then surely there will have been a noticeable positive effect when measured over a suitably long period, like 50 years?
THE ANSWER ABOUT SINGLE MARKET AND GROWTH
The answer is:-
BREXIT FACTS4EU.ORG SUMMARY
UK AVERAGE GROWTH BEFORE AND AFTER SINGLE MARKET STARTED
  • 25 years BEFORE Single Market started: 2.4% average annual growth
  • 25 years AFTER Single Market started: 2.2% average annual growth
Chart © Facts4EU.Org 2018
The UK’s average annual growth rate has fallen since the start of the Single Market, not risen.
OBSERVATIONS
HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?
The above information comes from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) and is therefore official and reliable, as with all the data sources we use.
Over the years the EU has made claims that the full implementation of the Single Market will produce an uplift in GDP of 4.5 - 6%. In 25 years, this has never materialised. In fact the UK’s average GDP growth has fallen from 2.4% to 2.2% as we have shown.
Yes of course we know that many factors make economic growth go up or down, which is precisely why we have used such a long time period to make the comparisons. We used the lifetime of the Single Market – 25 years – and therefore used the period of 25 years before it to make the comparison. This evens out any short-term effects from other factors.
If we had to hazard a guess, the Remain-supporting members of your BBC Question Time panel (on average 80% of the panel) will answer your question with waffle.
If David Dimbleby comes back to you for your response and you reveal that you know the answer, everyone will squirm for a moment and then tell you that economic growth as measured by GDP is irrelevant and that the Single Market brings so many other benefits. (It doesn’t, but that’s for another article.)
The problem the pro-Remain speakers on the panel have is that it’s the EU – as well as all the Remoaner MPs – who for years have trumpeted the growth afforded by membership of the Single Market.
When that is proved false, as we have just done, all they can do is clutch at straws, and… well… waffle.
NEXT LETTER TO THE REMAIN VOTER:
Statistical note: In articles in the last year we used historical records from the World Bank. The latest graph above solely uses data from the Office for National Statistics, which is what the government uses and which is provided to the EU. The figures are slightly different now but the conclusion remains the same.
[ Sources: Office for National Statistics Apr 2018 ]
     Journalists and politicians can contact us for the full list of links, as usual. ]
       06.55am, 22 Apr 2018
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Name: Jon, Wales      Date/Time: 22 Apr 2018, 3.16pm
Message: May I compliment reader 'JMW123 Greece' for an excellent contribution below. I believe the deception of the EU construct has over time been found out, and EU bureaucrats hate the fact ordinary people are now scrutinising them like never before. Peoples of the UK, across continental Europe, and Republic of Ireland, all hold their respective parliamentarians to account. In my view, the EU 'parliament' is nothing but a VERY costly talking shop we do not need or require? Imagine for a moment if the entire construct was consigned to the dustbin of history and the money saved thereafter. We do not require these extra levels of bureaucracy that have harmed (or destroyed) many businesses? We can still be friendly, trade together, and be good neighbours. When those in power start imposing their own will upon member nations as though it was one country, people will often 'fight' back to protect and preserve their culture and national identity. It often seems true power lies with Civil Service mandarins, rather than MPs and cabinet ministers, which then begs the question as to collusion between them and the EU elite power-base we can never vote out of office? Thank goodness the UK is leaving the EU construct.
Name: JMW123, Greece      Date/Time: 22 Apr 2018, 08.27am
Message: "Over the years the EU has made claims that the full implementation of the Single Market will produce an uplift in GDP of 4.5 - 6%. In 25 years, this has never materialised. In fact the UK's average GDP growth has fallen from 2.4% to 2.2% as we have shown."
This is typical of the EU. Their advertised claims are often far from the reality and, if they were honest, they never believed them themselves. Take, for example, "One Market, One Money" designed to persuade electors (who had no say but could have proved difficult) of the value of joining the Euro. It claimed that membership would deliver equal standards of living, pay and pensions. The reality, and their knowledge of the reality, is that they expected the "economic genocide" that the Euro inflicted on the PIIGS based on their experience of the ERM.(see Bernard Connolly's book "The Rotten Heart of Europe"). Why? Because, for one reason, they expected that once the full extent of the disaster struck that the PIIGS would be the first to surrender sovereignty to Brussels. The Austerity measures were an attempt to complete the job and Ireland, instead of being applauded for finding a way to partially recover, is instead promised that the EU will "Harmonise" corporation taxes which will put them back in the hole. Whether or not they believed their claims for the single market, the reasons for it are usually to be found in their ambition to deliver a homogeneous EU bereft of any individual national identities and ruled from Brussels as a totalitarian state. They often talk about a "Federal Europe" which is nice. We all know that quite a few countries operate as federations including Germany, Switzerland, the USA, but in federal states each part retains some regional authority and has a say in the nature of federal legislation. This is clearly not what the EU intends, but they are hardly going to admit to wanting to create a Soviet style totalitarian state. Whatever the EU says about why it wants to do something and what benefits it will bring, suspect both to be blatant lies designed to placate the people long enough for the situation to become entrenched.

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PLEASE HELP US TO
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We are a small but committed and determined team.
You haven't given up fighting for the clean Brexit you voted for.
Together we're up against a vast army of UK & EU propagandists.
All we have here are our honest tools - research, compelling daily content, simple charts - and our most important resource - you.
 
Dear reader, we rely completely on voluntary donations from individuals like you. We produce important and original work which gets picked up by the national media and politicians in the UK and internationally.
We badly need your help to keep going, fighting for a full, clean Brexit.

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A BIG THANK YOU TO OUR SUPPORTERS
(Anonymity respected completely if you prefer to remain private)
       Best regards, the Facts4EU.Org Team
 BREXIT FACTS4EU.ORG LAUNCHES
NEW INITIATIVE
FOR REMAIN VOTERS
OPEN LETTER TO THOSE WHO VOTED REMAIN – Introduction
WHY ARE WE WRITING TO YOU?
This open letter is addressed to those of you who voted Remain in 2016.
You were part of 48% of the voters who did so, and the vast majority of you are not ‘extremists’. You are just ordinary people like us, with all the normal concerns for yourselves, your families, and for your country. You made your decision based on what you thought was best, given the information you had received at that point.
If you’re an arch-Remainer – what is generally referred to as being a “Remoaner” - then you probably work in Westminster, or for the BBC or other media organisation, or you’re a foreign national working for an international organisation. In that case nothing we tell you will be of any interest because your mind is closed. It is equally possible that you believe in open borders, that everyone in the world is fundamentally the same, and that you want to be part of a single EU superstate. Again, we will not change your mind with what we are about to present to you.
However if you’re a normal, open-minded person, then we think you’ll find some of what we can tell you interesting.
BACK TO ‘ORDINARY REMAIN VOTERS’
Ordinary people who voted for Remain did so for many reasons, in the same way as ordinary people who voted Leave voted for their option. Many Remain voters found the balance to be in favour of remaining in the EU, whilst having some reservations and without perhaps being the most ardent admirers of that body.
One thing that is certain is that we all made our decisions based on the totality of information we absorbed over time and particularly in the Referendum debate.
CONSEQUENCES OF THE LEAVE VOTE
In the nearly two years that have passed since we voted, most people would now agree that none of the terrible consequences predicted by David Cameron’s government and by the Remain campaign have come to pass. Even the drop in the value of the pound was merely a continuation of a downward trend which started a few years earlier. Worryingly for the Remain side even the $:£ exchange rate has now returned to where it was in June 2016.
Jobs are massively up instead of massively down, unemployment continues to fall, wages are now growing faster than inflation, and the economy continues to grow rather than plunging into the immediate recession we were threatened with. Let’s not forget that the threats were about immediate consequences, not what would happen after we actually left.
In short, most reasonable people will now agree that some of the major reasons for voting Remain given to voters by the then government have turned out to be hogwash. The sun still rises, the UK is back to being the 5th largest economy in the world, and Britain's Got Talent is back on television. (We didn’t say it would all be good.)
We would like to bring you some basic facts in the forthcoming series of letters to you - the ordinary person who chose to vote Remain in 2016. All we ask is that you look at these with an entirely open mind.
THREE ARTICLES TO START WITH
The first three of these articles or 'letters' are below. Feel free to comment, but we ask that you recognise the facts we present are all from official sources – in fact most facts we quote on this site are from the EU Commission itself. Please only comment on the content of each article, rather than “Yes, but what about x?” Don’t worry about other issues – we’ll slowly get round to them all!
If you want to make an argument, it’s always best to do so from a factual basis, otherwise it doesn’t have much meaning. If you think facts are irrelevant for some reason, then this isn’t the site for you. If you’re happy to express opinions based on facts, comment away – and this applies to Brexiteers too.
We also hope that Brexiteers will want to spread these pieces around so they reach as big an audience as possible.
NEXT – LETTER No. 1 – WHERE DOES THE UK STAND IN THE EU?
For our first topic we’ve chosen something topical. (We’re nothing if not predictable.) This week the IMF produced its latest figures for the performance of each country’s economy in 2017. We want to show you where the UK stands – particularly in relation to the EU27.
NEXT LETTER TO THE REMAIN VOTER:
       06.55am, 21 Apr 2018
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READERS' COMMENTS
Please send us your comments and we will publish them here. You can of course use a pseudonym if you prefer, and it's always nice to know roughly where you're writing from. Please always state the headline of the article you're commenting on.
Name: Jon, Wales      Date/Time: 21 Apr 2018, 10.26pm
Message: An excellent introduction to the following series of articles which may actually help bring our country together. I have said many times over, here and elsewhere, that I respect those having a different opinion to my own. However one voted 22 months ago, we must all keep level heads and protect UK democratic values. I suggest we cannot spread UK democracy unless we uphold our own values here at home. I urge all readers to remember the world is looking on, and our values will be defined by the manner in which we uphold them.
Name: Johnny T, Devon      Date/Time: 21 Apr 2018, 1.01pm
Message: Yes. I saw your social media post the other day on the subject of "Not all Remain voters are Remoaners" and I couldn't agree more. There's an absence of good clear info out there and I think this is a great idea.
Name: Patrick H, London      Date/Time: 21 Apr 2018, 12.18pm
Message: A typical response from an ill-informed Remainer: I recently referred to this excellent site to an individual to whom I wished to explain the Leave's position in simple, but informative terms. The points I made were demonstrable and able to be factually corroborated (complementary to Fact4EU). The response. "we (Remainers) would also be able to come up with a counter to each point made by Facts4EU" I eagerly asked the individual to give me one or two examples? Sigh, I am still waiting 5 days later for their counter-arguments. My point: this individual was arrogantly dismissive and clearly did not wish to follow up the facts? Therefore, your incisive letters are crucial to getting through to some Remainers that will not question the biased Remoaner/MSM narrative, regardless of the factual evidence available....and these important facts are becoming ever more transparent each week due to the continuing Government's incompetently lead Brexit debacle. Facts4EU are doing a great job getting irrefutable facts out there; I trust and hope, with a little help from Brexiteers, this will continue. Thank you.
Name: rjb, Andover, Hampshire      Date/Time: 21 Apr 2018, 09:52am
Message: These 3 letters are really good and outline in easy read English the dilemma previous Governments (of all colours) have left us in. Hopefully they will be read and circulated widely so more people understand why we need to exit the "one state" Europe is heading to. Looking forward to more of these enlightening letters.
 A BIG BRITAIN IN A BIG WORLD
                              © Dept for Int'l Trade
LATEST IMF FIGURES SHOW
UK AT WORLD No.5
LETTER TO THOSE WHO VOTED REMAIN – No.1
On Tuesday the International Monetary Fund (IMF) released its latest version of the database called the ”World Economic Outlook”. This is a source of reference for people and governments around the world. One of the things it shows is the size of each country’s economy.
Chart © Facts4EU.Org 2018
The above chart shows the top 20 economies in the world in 2017. As you can see, the top 5 are:-
  1. USA
  2. China
  3. Japan
  4. Germany
  5. United Kingdom
The UK is 5th in the IMF's list of 192 world economies.
It’s worth mentioning that France has slipped to no.7 in the list from its previous no.5 ranking. You should also be aware that the IMF backed Remain in the Referendum, with its French leader making several interventions at key points, so they are no friend of the Leave side.
OBSERVATIONS
Dear Remain voter,
We’re showing the above information just released by the IMF because it clearly demonstrates what a big and powerful country the UK is, in comparison with the rest of the world. Sadly, some MPs prefer to denigrate the country at every opportunity, which is profoundly damaging to our reputation abroad.
They do this – regardless of their duty to support the country’s best interests - because they want you to think that the UK is powerless to be anything other than a cog in Brussels’ wheel. They say that the UK can’t go it alone. As you can see above, this is patently untrue.
Despite what Remoaner MPs say, countries are queuing up for trade deals. If you doubt this, just stop and think for a moment. These countries would be stupid not to want more trade with the UK. What would you do if you were a foreign government, looking at the fifth largest economy in the world finally becoming independent again?
It is this same Remoaner thinking propagated by some MPs and peers that has led Mrs May into possibly the worst negotiation result we can remember. If she had had the confidence that stems from a quick glance at basic figures like those above, she would have played a much better hand. It’s time to get tough.
In the next article we put the UK into the context of the EU, to see where we fit in.
NEXT LETTER TO THE REMAIN VOTER:
(See below for the next piece in this great series!)
[ Sources: IMF data for 2017 ]
     Journalists and politicians can contact us for the full list of links, as usual. ]
       06.55am, 21 Apr 2018
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Name: Jon, Wales      Date/Time: 21 Apr 2018, 9.14pm
Message: The latest IMF figures as shown here cannot be disputed by Brussels bureaucrats. They cannot be disputed by UK Houses of Commons or Lords. They cannot be disputed by Leave or remain voters. They cannot be disputed by those who did not vote. We should of course be wary of the IMF who spread doom and gloom prior to our referendum in June 2016. That said, there is sometimes a difference between what the IMF may have us believe, and reality? There is a difference between pessimism and optimism, and I have always remained optimistic my country will pull together and do well. It is up to each of us to make this happen.
 HOW ARE THE EU27 COUNTRIES
DOING GLOBALLY?
Messrs Juncker and Barnier                              © EU Parliament
LETTER TO THOSE WHO VOTED REMAIN – No.2
(Want to start from the beginning? Click here!)
We further analysed the figures released this week from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and looked specifically at the UK and the other EU member states.
Chart © Facts4EU.Org 2018
The above chart shows the huge variances across the EU, from giants like Germany to minnows like Malta.
BREXIT FACTS4EU.ORG SUMMARY - SIZE OF EU ECONOMIES, 2017
  • 5 countries (excluding the UK) have a GDP over $500bn
  • 13 countries have a GDP from $100bn - $500bn
  • 10 countries have a GDP below $100bn
The total GDP of all 28 EU member states is reported as being $17,309bn. The UK represents $2,625 of that, or 15.2%.
Chart © Facts4EU.Org 2018
When the UK leaves, this represents a drop of over 15% in the economic importance of the EU
OBSERVATIONS
Dear Remain voter,
We hope the above gives you an idea of where the UK sits in relation to the EU as a whole. Below are a couple of observations on this.
FIRSTLY, LACK OF COMMONALITY
How can the interests of such widely varying countries possibly be reconciled in a common set of policies? If you then throw into the mix some other aspects such as the widely-varying composition of these economies (agricultural/industrial/post-industrial) and their relative debts, average wages, tax rates, retirement ages, etc, the picture becomes chaotic. And yet the EU wants to impose a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach. This is openly stated in the EU, it’s not conjecture.
SECONDLY, WHO PAYS?
Clearly the EU’s policies are very expensive for some member states. If the EU wanted to impose common standards across all 28 states, it had to persuade the richer countries to pay far more of the cost. So that’s what the EU did.
This is how we end up with countries like Germany and the UK paying for a huge part of the EU. Only 9 countries are actually net contributors – the rest are all beneficiaries of the generosity of the few whose taxpayers pay.
A question could have been asked decades ago to the British people: “Are you happy to subsidise the development of most of the countries in the EU for decades to come?”
This question would have come as a surprise to most people. After all, we supposedly joined a common trading bloc in 1973. No-one said anything about a decades-long programme of the taxpayers of the UK paying for the peoples of two-thirds of the EU. Yet that is where we are.
We hope the above has been food for thought.
NEXT LETTER TO THE REMAIN VOTER:
(See below for the next piece in this great series!)
[ Sources: IMF data for 2017 ]
     Journalists and politicians can contact us for the full list of links, as usual. ]
       06.55am, 21 Apr 2018
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READERS' COMMENTS
Please send us your comments and we will publish them here. You can of course use a pseudonym if you prefer, and it's always nice to know roughly where you're writing from. Please always state the headline of the article you're commenting on.
Name: Jon, Wales      Date/Time: 21 Apr 2018, 6.41pm
Message: Whilst I am a passionate Leave voter who believes in my country, warts and all, I wholly respect those with an opposing democratic opinion. The doom and gloom fed to us prior to June 2016 did not materialise, and I never for one moment thought it would. Many remain politicians have rowed back on their original view. It is up to all of us to come together and ensure our country continues to succeed - failure is not an option!
To compliment the above Facts4EU observations, I reproduce part of "A Reader's letter To The Prime Minister" from last month to remind readers. "If in 1975 the country had been informed the EEC was in fact a political project that would develop into the EU we see today, and if we had been informed we would lose almost all abilities to function as a sovereign independent self-governing nation state as of right, and if our fishermen had been informed their industry would be decimated, and if we had been informed the majority of our laws would be made by foreign bureaucrats and imposed upon us, and if we had been informed our elected MPs were effectively governed by a foreign bureaucracy, then I guarantee the outcome of the 1975 referendum would have been a massive NO vote."
Had we been informed about the true nature of the EU construct, we would not be having this conservation now, but this information kept secret under the 30 year rule at the time.

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 FOR THE EU, BREXIT EQUATES TO
18 COUNTRIES
LEAVING AT ONCE
Herr Juncker, EU Commission President            © EU Parliament
LETTER TO THOSE WHO VOTED REMAIN – No.3
(Want to start from the beginning? Click here!)
In the article above we showed how there is a huge disparity between the size of the EU’s 28 economies. One simple way of looking at this is below.
Chart © Facts4EU.Org 2018
As you can see, the UK’s economy is bigger than 18 other EU countries – COMBINED.
Let’s take one example of these 18 countries: Malta. Malta’s economy is now ranked 129th in the world.
The tiny island of Malta
© Wiki
Key Facts About Malta
  • Population : 434,403 (equivalent to Kirklees in W Yorks)
  • Economy (GDP) : $12.5 bn - The UK’s economy is 209 times larger than Malta’s
  • Physical size : 122 sq miles - The UK is 767 times bigger than Malta
  • Location: 50 miles south of Italy, with Tunisia to the west and Libya to the south
  • Malta became independent of the UK in 1964
  • It renounced the Queen as Head of State in 1974 and became a republic
  • It joined the EU in 2004 and adopted the Euro in 2008
OBSERVATIONS
WHAT’S THE IMPORTANCE OF EACH COUNTRY?
The classic globalist liberal’s response to such a question would be to say that each country has equal standing.
Really? Is this true for a country like Malta, ranked 129th in the world? Its population is equivalent to that of Kirklees in West Yorkshire. Try to imagine David Sheard, Labour Leader of Kirklees Council, holding international press conferences with President Juncker, pronouncing on Brexit, and having a vote on the final deal.
Malta is a beautiful country but its economy is 1/209th the size of the UK’s. Yet Malta is one of the 27 countries which will have to approve any deal between the UK and the EU. Would you be happy with the Leader of Kirklees Council (with a population of EU citizens the same as that of Malta) having a vote on the Brexit deal?
The UK could swallow up the economy of Malta without even noticing. (No disrespect, Malta.) We respect the Maltese people, but it’s become evident during the Brexit negotiations that their PM has no love for the British at all.
This is the real nature of the EU. 28 states which really are separate nations with their own separate interests, needs, and national characters. There are enormous variances between them, and yet the EU is trying to wedge all of them into one superstate. Once again we must point out that things like converging into one state are terms used by the EU themselves when caught off-guard – only the BBC never reports things like this.
It’s worth looking again at our chart above. The UK’s economy is bigger than 18 EU countries combined. In purely economic terms, when the UK leaves it will be worse than if those 18 countries left.
BRITAIN REALLY IS BIG ENOUGH
We hope these 3 articles have given you an initial perspective on the place the UK has in the world and in the EU. We are not the poor supplicant in these negotiations with the EU. We are a force to be reckoned with, not to be insulted and treated like a naughty child. We hope now you see why pro-Brexit people like us get frustrated with the defeatism we all hear on the daily news.
You can and should be proud of your country.
More open letters to Remain voters will be published if everyone thinks this is a good idea – let us know!
NEXT LETTER TO THE REMAIN VOTER:
[ Sources: IMF | UN Stats Database | Office of National Statistics data on populations in the UK ]
     Journalists and politicians can contact us for the full list of links, as usual. ]
       06.55am, 21 Apr 2018
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READERS' COMMENTS
Please send us your comments and we will publish them here. You can of course use a pseudonym if you prefer, and it's always nice to know roughly where you're writing from. Please always state the headline of the article you're commenting on.
Name: Zerren Yeoville, South-west England      Date/Time: 21 Apr 2018, 6.37pm
Message: The Maltese leader has also made (vehemently) clear how opposed he is to Brexit. This wouldn't by any chance be related to the fact that Malta runs a citizenship by investment' program, effectively selling Maltese citizenship and passports to anyone who can afford the asking price, would it? (Google 'Malta citizenship by investment' for further details). Of course, as Malta is a member of the EU, this (currently) also confers on the holder the right to live and work in London and the UK. I would not be surprised to learn that many of those interested in acquiring a Maltese passport are more interested in this than any rights they may gain in respect of a tiny Mediterranean island nation. With Brexit, this scheme will no longer grant such free access to London and the UK, thus presumably reducing the attractiveness and marketability of the Malta passports-for-cash program. No wonder the Malta chap doesn't like the idea of Brexit. I've no objection in principle to Malta 'or any other country' offering such a program at all. Part of being a sovereign and independent country is the ability to grant citizenship to whoever you wish on whatever terms you care to set, and if one of the terms you choose to set is simply a large cheque, that's your right. But it seems rather sharp practice to offer a scheme in which your country effectively sells the right to live in other countries.
Name: Jon, Wales      Date/Time: 21 Apr 2018, 5.05pm
Message: At the present time there are 28 EU member countries (the remaining EU27, plus the UK until exit). The above chart clearly shows the UK economy is larger than remaining EU18 economies of member countries combined. The above EU18 should perhaps think how they wish to conduct business with the UK going forward? It is up to the remaining EU members if they consider they'll be better off subscribing to a protectionist and dictatorial European Union, or moving to WTO terms of trade with the UK? The above EU18 countries should understand the majority in the UK are getting extremely fed up of constant demands and obstructions made by Mr Barnier acting on their behalf. This is not acting in the spirit of good neighbourliness, especially when the UK has been enormously generous to the EU for 45 years, and made a generous offer upon our exit - an offer we did not need to make. My suggestion to the remaining EU27 is to stop pushing the UK, as doing so may result in us walking out on negotiations, and I do not believe they would wish to harm their own economies. We will only tolerate so much.
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One kind reader indexed our defence articles for us, which you can see on that summary page. We'd like to go much further but simply don't have the resource.
Could you help? It would involve being allocated a list of topics and you trawling through the news pages, copying and pasting the article titles and the links to them. We will help you through this so you know how to get going.
Please let us know if you could help!
Best regards, the Brexit Facts4EU.Org team, Saturday 21st April 2018, 06.55am
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Now that the Referendum has been won, we have 2 main aims:
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