Addressing corruption fear

It appears that Vote Leave has succeeded in propagating the myth that the UK contributes £350m a week to the EU.

This figure has already been rubbished by the ONS and labelled highly misleading.

In fact, Britain’s contribution to the EU is £134m a week, as confirmed by the ONS and the independent fact-checking organisation FullFact.org.

After exports are taken into account, the EU actually boosts the UK economy by £4.2bn a week.

In the South East, the EU is a net contributor to the economy. Membership is worth £347m a week to the region according to official HRMC figures.

It is also worth noting that the claim that EU accounts haven’t been signed off is another myth enthusiastically repeated by Leave campaigners.

The claim has been debunked by the BBC and FullFact.org. EU accounts are regularly signed off every year.

Finally, when talking about corruption, the UK has a shameful record of tackling corporate misdeeds.

It is simply not true, unfortunately, to state that UK authorities come down on corrupt organisations ‘like a ton of bricks’.

However, Greens MEPS in Europe are fighting to make this the case.

It was the EU that enforced caps on bankers bonuses after the banking crisis and it is Greens MEPs that are pushing for an EU-wide investigation into shadowy tax affairs following the Panama Papers revelations.

Keith Taylor MEP

European Parliament

Don’t miss out on all the latest breaking news where you live.

Here are four ways you can be sure you’ll be amongst the first to know what’s going on.

1) Make our website your homepage at www.bexhillobserver.net/

2) Like our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/bexhillobserver

3) Follow us on Twitter @BexhillObs

4) Register with us by clicking on ‘sign in’ (top right corner). You can then receive our daily newsletter AND add your point of view to stories that you read here.

And do share with your family and friends - so they don’t miss out!

The Bexhill Observer - always the first with your local news.

Be part of it.