EU elites will conclude the voters are wrong - but the noise in Europe can no longer be ignored - John Redwood

Europeans will be voting across nations in the EU elections

GB News
John Redwood

By John Redwood


Published: 08/06/2024

- 06:20

John Redwood is a former Tory MP

Following EU policy has been a graveyard for the U.K. economy. Adopting their Exchange Rate Mechanism gave us an inflationary boom followed by a nasty bust.

Joining their single market lumbered us with too many laws, rules and taxes It took the tariffs off the goods they made to export to us but failed to liberate the services we could sell to them.


Freedom of movement brought in millions to take often low paid employment when we struggled to provide the homes and hospitals they needed.

When we left the EU I proposed we changed our economic policy control from the EU one. Their control was based on curbing debts and deficits which led to austerity and slow growth. We needed a policy control like the US to keep inflation down whilst also promoting growth.

The Chancellor agreed to a change but then accepted Treasury advice to dress up the old EU debt control in new language. So the government was stopped from cutting taxes by a figure for the possible deficit in five years time dreamed up by the Office of Budget Responsibility. No wonder we underperformed the US, crawling along like the EU.


Next week the European elections will likely show a shift to the Eurosceptic right in Europe. Many people are fed up with high levels of migration, low growth, high taxes and excessive bossiness by the EU government.

Polls say it will not be enough to give those who want less Brussels a majority.

The pro EU centre right and centre left groups will probably be able to gang up with the Liberals and centrists to keep Mrs Von Der Leyen as President of the Commission.

They will continue their costly new zero policies, rack up more debt at EU level whilst trying to cut member states borrowings and will try to ignore the clamour for change.


EU GDP per head is 20% lower than ours. It is an astonishing 50% lower than the USA. Many voters will try to tell them they want change.

The traditional pro EU parties will conclude the voters are wrong again. It has taken seven months to get a Dutch government following the big surge in votes for parties wanting to control migration and have some freedom from EU policies. All is not happy in and with the EU.

Mending its broken economic model which is anti innovation, small business and enterprise is much needed. The U.K. election should talk about how we can make more use of our freedoms out of the EU instead of looking for more ways to shackle ourselves to economic failure.

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