European elections: UKIP propaganda queried

Ed Davey has written to UKIP leader Nigel Farage to seek an explanation for his party election broadcast’s cavalier way with figures.

The party has issued this rebuttal:

UKIP MYTH OVER UK’s EU BUDGET CONTRIBUTION

UKIP claims that EU membership costs the UK £40m per day. This is nonsense.

The UK does make a net contribution to the EU, which varies year on year, but this year amounts to around £4bn. In reality, each person in the UK contributes £67 a year, or £1.29 per week, or 18p a day to the EU budget.

The EU budget supports agriculture, the environment, research and development, and infrastructure in poor regions and in countries that until recently were communist dictatorships.

Liberal Democrats believe that it is right that Britain pays its fair share to invest in the EU single market and in other programmes that benefit Britain and Europe. We believe that reforms to the EU budget and growing prosperity in poorer countries and regions will over time lessen the UK’s budget contributions.

Britain pays similar amounts into the budget as do other countries of Britain’s size and wealth. It is only right that Britain makes a budget contribution, as we take all the benefits of EU membership, such as the 3 million British jobs linked to trade with other EU countries.[1]

Government Spending and net EU budget contributions:

Government spending 2008-09: £623bn, net EU contribution: £3bn[2]
Government spending 2009/10: £671bn[3], net EU contribution: £4.1bn[4] (i.e. 0.6% of total government spending)