IN HER letter on the price of being in the EU ‘club’, Susan Thomas asks (Oxford Mail, February 11) “are we getting value for money?”

In addition to the direct payments she mentions of £1bn per month, there are far greater hidden costs, due to British businesses having to implement EU regulations, but also due to protectionism, waste, fraud etc.

According to detailed analysis by economist Prof Tim Congdon, the total cost is currently running at about £170bn per year.

Ms Thomas also stated recently (February 8) “there are so many directives that only a lawyer would be able to navigate around the legalities.”

Precisely! Our membership of the EU has spawned an industry in EU law, which trumps British law, so no surprises that 300 senior UK lawyers recently wrote an open letter in favour of remaining in the EU. They must dread losing all that highly-paid work.

Meanwhile the rest of us are paying through the nose. The EU landfill tax costs our councils about £40 per tonne. The EU green energy taxes adds 10 per cent to our energy bills and so on.

Now the weather has gone cold, how many of our pensioners will sit shivering, while we are putting money into landowners’ pockets for wind turbines made in Germany or Denmark to sit doing nothing?

Value for money? I don’t think so.

STEPHEN NASH
Washington Terrace, Middle Barton