And now for something different

I don't blog about the EU very often, - I find it so dispiriting. Here is the first of two.

Dan Hannan has recently made a powerful speech commenting on the trading relationship of the UK with the EU.

He answered the europhile claim that as 50 % of our trade is with the EU, we cannot afford to withdraw.

He made two points:
1) We export more to the rest of the world than we do to the EU. We import more from the EU than we do from the rest of the world. The figures, I assume, are aggregate figures on the trade (visible) account. We thus have a surplus on our trade with the rest of the world, and a deficit on the trade balance with the EU.

2) Other former members of the short-lived EFTA, that is short lived in its greatest membership, all without exception sell more to the EU than we do.

The conclusion is that the EU needs us more than we need the EU. In general terms the economic benefits of membership are slight or negative, especially when account is taken of the "red-tape" costs imposed on us by Brussels. Of course, the europhiles try to claim that there are significant other benefits.