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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2016/may/31/eu-referendum-live-leave-johnson-gove-remain-business-poll
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| EU referendum live – Leave victory 'could scrap VAT on energy bills' | EU referendum live – Leave victory 'could scrap VAT on energy bills' |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 12.31pm BST | |
| 12:31 | |
| And here are some lines from Chris Grayling’s Q&A. | |
| Grayling on where EU money would go' We wouldn't necessarily spend every penny on the NHS.' Surely NOT what it says on the side of the bus? | |
| Grayling; Vote Leave can only set out options for the Government. Cutting VAT on fuel is one of the options. | |
| That is not quite the way it came out in today’s Sun. | |
| Grayling "interpreted" Priti comment about leaders of Remain camp being too posh to push on migration as "about banks + big biz" not the PM. | |
| Sky’s Beth Rigby thinks Grayling may be more interested in a post-referendum promotion than Patel. | |
| Grayling invited by press 2 attack Javid, and pile in behind Patel on 'posh remainers'. He has declined. Post #Euref promotion. Definitely. | |
| Chris Grayling turns a blind eye to the upheaval in the Tory party: "I am not part of a party that is going to rip itself to pieces." | |
| Chris Grayling says he does not feel like he's in a party about to rip itself apart & all will go back to normal in three weeks' time. Hmm! | |
| Grayling: I trust Sir Jeremy Heywood to lead the Brexit talks with the EU if Britons vote to leave on June 23. #EUref | |
| 12.15pm BST | |
| 12:15 | |
| Grayling says UK is not protected from 'every closer union' | |
| Here is the full text of Chris Grayling’s Vote Leave speech, on the risks of remaining in the EU. | |
| And here are the key points. | |
| So what’s the problem. Well, ladies and gentlemen, the problem is this. We have an opt-out from the euro. We have an opt-out from the Schengen Area. We have an opt-out from some justice and home affairs measures. | |
| But on everything else we have no opt out. We are subject to every law introduced by the EU and in the eurozone. On banking and financial services. On business regulation. And on EU social policy, on the so-called social Europe, we have no opt out. | |
| So we have a new list of EU social policies which will deepen integration across the eurozone. But these will be EU laws passed in the normal way. There is no other method of doing so right now. And we have no opt-out from them. | |
| Many of these measures will be things we already do well; some may be measures we would want in the UK. The point is that it should be up to us to control what happens to the NHS, to workers’ rights and to social protection and control over these areas should not lie with Brussels ... | |
| And this is why we are not at all exempt from ever closer union. Because the nuts and bolts of integration will come from new EU laws passed under the terms of the Lisbon treaty. | |
| The Lisbon treaty itself is a huge part of the problem. | |
| It is vaguely worded, and gives both the commission and the European court of justice free rein to expand their brief and take over competences from the member states. | |
| It’s already happened. Under the treaty individual countries are supposed to be responsible for social security. But the European court decided that the free movement rights of the European citizen were more important, and now the EU controls more and more aspects of our benefit system. A treaty we signed in good faith is being rewritten by a court whose president made a speech saying the job of the European commission is to resist Euroscepticism. | |
| 11.40am BST | 11.40am BST |
| 11:40 | 11:40 |
| My colleague Peter Walker has been tweeting from Nigel Farage’s visit to Birmingham. | My colleague Peter Walker has been tweeting from Nigel Farage’s visit to Birmingham. |
| He's here! Farage drives into the middle of the market in his purple bus. Lots of talk about Brussels bureaucrats pic.twitter.com/C3NXe3sYsP | He's here! Farage drives into the middle of the market in his purple bus. Lots of talk about Brussels bureaucrats pic.twitter.com/C3NXe3sYsP |
| "Do you want 508 million people to have this passport?" Farage booms from mic. "No!" yell back dozen or so people. | "Do you want 508 million people to have this passport?" Farage booms from mic. "No!" yell back dozen or so people. |
| Farage asked by local dad to sign his T shirt saying, "Sons of Anarchists". Farage visibly not sure but still does. | Farage asked by local dad to sign his T shirt saying, "Sons of Anarchists". Farage visibly not sure but still does. |
| Some people here I've talked to say they think Farage is best person to deliver Brexit message but sidelined for Johnson & Gove | Some people here I've talked to say they think Farage is best person to deliver Brexit message but sidelined for Johnson & Gove |
| Nigel Farage has now taken out his passport to show to people to show off the "EU passport" wording about a dozen times now. | Nigel Farage has now taken out his passport to show to people to show off the "EU passport" wording about a dozen times now. |
| Nigel Faraga talks fish quotas at a fish counter in the indoor market. pic.twitter.com/UjlU7scEzg | Nigel Faraga talks fish quotas at a fish counter in the indoor market. pic.twitter.com/UjlU7scEzg |
| 11.34am BST | 11.34am BST |
| 11:34 | 11:34 |
| Michael Gove’s claim that he is opposed to VAT because it’s unfair on the poor (see 10.13am) may sound unlikely, but in his book about the coalition government, Coalition, David Laws, the Lib Dem former schools minister, says Gove has progressive views on tax at odds with official Conservative policy. | Michael Gove’s claim that he is opposed to VAT because it’s unfair on the poor (see 10.13am) may sound unlikely, but in his book about the coalition government, Coalition, David Laws, the Lib Dem former schools minister, says Gove has progressive views on tax at odds with official Conservative policy. |
| He describes Gove as someone who “had quietly let it be known that he thought the 2012 reduction in the top rate of tax was premature; and who was believed to have told friends that he thought inheritance tax should be increased, not reduced.” | He describes Gove as someone who “had quietly let it be known that he thought the 2012 reduction in the top rate of tax was premature; and who was believed to have told friends that he thought inheritance tax should be increased, not reduced.” |
| Laws worked with Gove in the Department for Education and admires him. | Laws worked with Gove in the Department for Education and admires him. |
| His book, by the way, may not be the definitive account of the coalition, as claimed on the cover, but is a very good one nevertheless, and excellent on Lib Dem/Conservative policy negotiations. Laws and Nick Clegg (whose notes he uses) also seem to have kept a lot of verbatim records, and so there are far more direct quotes than usual in a memoir like this, which help to make it a lively read. | His book, by the way, may not be the definitive account of the coalition, as claimed on the cover, but is a very good one nevertheless, and excellent on Lib Dem/Conservative policy negotiations. Laws and Nick Clegg (whose notes he uses) also seem to have kept a lot of verbatim records, and so there are far more direct quotes than usual in a memoir like this, which help to make it a lively read. |
| 11.14am BST | 11.14am BST |
| 11:14 | 11:14 |
| Chris Grayling, the justice secretary, is giving a speech on the risks of remaining in the EU. | Chris Grayling, the justice secretary, is giving a speech on the risks of remaining in the EU. |
| I will post a summary when I’ve seen the text. | I will post a summary when I’ve seen the text. |
| Grayling; You cannot have single currency without political union... There has to be a United States of the Eurozone pic.twitter.com/Tv81TC6GN2 | Grayling; You cannot have single currency without political union... There has to be a United States of the Eurozone pic.twitter.com/Tv81TC6GN2 |
| 11.03am BST | 11.03am BST |
| 11:03 | 11:03 |
| David Davis, the Conservative backbencher, Brexit campaigner and David Cameron’s main rival for the leadership in 2005, has said that those Tories calling for Cameron to stand down after the EU referendum are being “unhelpful”. He said: | David Davis, the Conservative backbencher, Brexit campaigner and David Cameron’s main rival for the leadership in 2005, has said that those Tories calling for Cameron to stand down after the EU referendum are being “unhelpful”. He said: |
| This referendum is about the country, not the Conservative party. It is vital that the British people make their decision on the best facts available, and on what they think is in the long term interests of the country - not on short-term skirmishing about what may or may not happen after the referendum is over. In the light of that, these calls are an unnecessary and unhelpful distraction. | This referendum is about the country, not the Conservative party. It is vital that the British people make their decision on the best facts available, and on what they think is in the long term interests of the country - not on short-term skirmishing about what may or may not happen after the referendum is over. In the light of that, these calls are an unnecessary and unhelpful distraction. |
| It is entirely likely that what the country, and indeed the Conservative Party, will want after an unavoidably bruising referendum debate, is a period of stability - not another battle. That may be particularly true if we are in the middle of negotiating our exit from the EU. | It is entirely likely that what the country, and indeed the Conservative Party, will want after an unavoidably bruising referendum debate, is a period of stability - not another battle. That may be particularly true if we are in the middle of negotiating our exit from the EU. |
| 10.57am BST | 10.57am BST |
| 10:57 | 10:57 |
| Nigel Farage, the Ukip leader, is campaigning in Birmingham this morning. He has just tweeted this. | Nigel Farage, the Ukip leader, is campaigning in Birmingham this morning. He has just tweeted this. |
| Great to be here in Birmingham on the #BrexitBusTour. The only way that we can control our borders is to Leave EU. pic.twitter.com/YiCgPU5bLW | Great to be here in Birmingham on the #BrexitBusTour. The only way that we can control our borders is to Leave EU. pic.twitter.com/YiCgPU5bLW |
| 10.53am BST | 10.53am BST |
| 10:53 | 10:53 |
| Why EU membership does not cost the UK £350m a week | Why EU membership does not cost the UK £350m a week |
| Those of you who have been following the EU debate will be familiar with the arguments as to why Vote Leave’s claim that EU membership costs the UK £350m a week is dodgy, but for reference here is what the Commons Treasury committee and the Institute for Fiscal Studies said about this in reports last week. | Those of you who have been following the EU debate will be familiar with the arguments as to why Vote Leave’s claim that EU membership costs the UK £350m a week is dodgy, but for reference here is what the Commons Treasury committee and the Institute for Fiscal Studies said about this in reports last week. |
| From the Treasury committee report. | From the Treasury committee report. |
| At the heart of Vote Leave’s presentation of its case is the claim that, on leaving the EU, the UK government would receive a windfall of £350m per week, available to be spent in other ways, “like the NHS and schools”. This, and the other figures used byVote Leave for the UK’s EU budget contributions (£150bn ‘contributed’ in the past decade, and £511bn since joining) are highly misleading to the electorate for a number of reasons. | At the heart of Vote Leave’s presentation of its case is the claim that, on leaving the EU, the UK government would receive a windfall of £350m per week, available to be spent in other ways, “like the NHS and schools”. This, and the other figures used byVote Leave for the UK’s EU budget contributions (£150bn ‘contributed’ in the past decade, and £511bn since joining) are highly misleading to the electorate for a number of reasons. |
| First, Vote Leave’s £350m figure does not account for the budget rebate, which amounts to £85m per week. Leaving the EU could not make this money available to spend on schools and hospitals because it is not ‘sent’ to Brussels in the first place. The rebate does not leave the UK or cross the exchanges. This is repeated in other ways. A ‘counter’ is prominently displayed on Vote Leave’s website. This purports to show that the UK has historically contributed £511bn to the EU since joining in 1973 and excludes the rebate. The UK rebate is indeed controversial in other Member States. It may be raised in future negotiations over the EU’s financial framework. However, it can only be changed with the UK Government’s consent, as happened in the Government led by Tony Blair. | First, Vote Leave’s £350m figure does not account for the budget rebate, which amounts to £85m per week. Leaving the EU could not make this money available to spend on schools and hospitals because it is not ‘sent’ to Brussels in the first place. The rebate does not leave the UK or cross the exchanges. This is repeated in other ways. A ‘counter’ is prominently displayed on Vote Leave’s website. This purports to show that the UK has historically contributed £511bn to the EU since joining in 1973 and excludes the rebate. The UK rebate is indeed controversial in other Member States. It may be raised in future negotiations over the EU’s financial framework. However, it can only be changed with the UK Government’s consent, as happened in the Government led by Tony Blair. |
| Secondly, the extent to which money that the UK receives from the EU budget (a further £88m per week to the public sector and £79m per week to the private sector and non-governmental organisations) would be available for spending on other priorities, would depend on the policy choices of the democratically-elected government of the day. Vote Leave has stated that “There will [ … ] be financial protection for all groups that now get money from Brussels”. If that policy were implemented, the money available to fund other priorities after Brexit, such as schools and hospitals, would be much lower, and probably closer to the UK’s net contribution of £110 million per week than it is to £350 million. This would be true even if, as has been widely argued, efficiencies could be made in the way that money the UK currently receives from the EU budget is spent. | Secondly, the extent to which money that the UK receives from the EU budget (a further £88m per week to the public sector and £79m per week to the private sector and non-governmental organisations) would be available for spending on other priorities, would depend on the policy choices of the democratically-elected government of the day. Vote Leave has stated that “There will [ … ] be financial protection for all groups that now get money from Brussels”. If that policy were implemented, the money available to fund other priorities after Brexit, such as schools and hospitals, would be much lower, and probably closer to the UK’s net contribution of £110 million per week than it is to £350 million. This would be true even if, as has been widely argued, efficiencies could be made in the way that money the UK currently receives from the EU budget is spent. |
| Finally, it is not impossible that the UK may continue to make contributions to the EU budget after Brexit, either on a transitional or permanent basis, in return for continued access to parts of the single market, or because it considers mutual co-operation in certain areas, such as science research, to be desirable. This too would reduce the supposed fiscal windfall arising from leaving the EU. | Finally, it is not impossible that the UK may continue to make contributions to the EU budget after Brexit, either on a transitional or permanent basis, in return for continued access to parts of the single market, or because it considers mutual co-operation in certain areas, such as science research, to be desirable. This too would reduce the supposed fiscal windfall arising from leaving the EU. |
| From the Institute for Fiscal Studies report (pdf) | From the Institute for Fiscal Studies report (pdf) |
| The UK’s notional gross contribution (i.e. ignoring the UK’s rebate) in 2014 was £18.8 billion, which is about 1% of GDP. It is by dividing this number by 52 weeks that one comes to the widely-reported figure of over £350 million a week as the UK’s contribution to the EU. But in this context, ignoring the rebate is clearly inappropriate. It is equivalent to suggesting that were the UK to leave the EU and not make any financial contribution to the EU’s budget then remaining EU members would continue to pay the rebate to the UK. That is clearly absurd. The correct figure to use for the UK’s gross financial contribution takes account of the rebate. It stood at £14.4 billion, or 0.8% of GDP, in 2014.1 (This is equivalent to around £275 million a week.) | The UK’s notional gross contribution (i.e. ignoring the UK’s rebate) in 2014 was £18.8 billion, which is about 1% of GDP. It is by dividing this number by 52 weeks that one comes to the widely-reported figure of over £350 million a week as the UK’s contribution to the EU. But in this context, ignoring the rebate is clearly inappropriate. It is equivalent to suggesting that were the UK to leave the EU and not make any financial contribution to the EU’s budget then remaining EU members would continue to pay the rebate to the UK. That is clearly absurd. The correct figure to use for the UK’s gross financial contribution takes account of the rebate. It stood at £14.4 billion, or 0.8% of GDP, in 2014.1 (This is equivalent to around £275 million a week.) |
| In principle, the UK’s public finances could be strengthened by that full £14.4 billion a year if we were to leave the EU. However, the EU returns a significant fraction of that each year. The amount varies, but on average our net contribution stands at around £8 billion a year. That is £8 billion a year that we could use to fund other spending, cut taxes or reduce the deficit. Table 1 shows these direct, mechanical effects on the UK’s budget. | In principle, the UK’s public finances could be strengthened by that full £14.4 billion a year if we were to leave the EU. However, the EU returns a significant fraction of that each year. The amount varies, but on average our net contribution stands at around £8 billion a year. That is £8 billion a year that we could use to fund other spending, cut taxes or reduce the deficit. Table 1 shows these direct, mechanical effects on the UK’s budget. |
| 10.30am BST | 10.30am BST |
| 10:30 | 10:30 |
| Vote Leave’s chief executive Matthew Elliott has responded to the claim that Leave campaigners have made spending promises worth £112bn. (See 9.01am.) He said: | Vote Leave’s chief executive Matthew Elliott has responded to the claim that Leave campaigners have made spending promises worth £112bn. (See 9.01am.) He said: |
| BSE are simply making up numbers and have invented pledges that don’t exist. If we Vote Leave, we can spend the £50 million we hand to the EU every day on our priorities, like using a small proportion of it to cut energy bills and eases the pressure on family budgets. | BSE are simply making up numbers and have invented pledges that don’t exist. If we Vote Leave, we can spend the £50 million we hand to the EU every day on our priorities, like using a small proportion of it to cut energy bills and eases the pressure on family budgets. |
| The Remain campaign should admit that if we vote In then Brussels will be in charge of VAT levels and will continue taxing low-income families. | The Remain campaign should admit that if we vote In then Brussels will be in charge of VAT levels and will continue taxing low-income families. |
| (Vote Leave like referring to Britain Stronger in Europe by the acronym BSE because of its obvious unfortunate connotations.) | (Vote Leave like referring to Britain Stronger in Europe by the acronym BSE because of its obvious unfortunate connotations.) |
| But the Vote Leave bus implies that the £50m per day (which isn’t £50m per day, remember) will be spent on the NHS. It is quite unusual in a campaign to be rebutted by your own battlebus. | But the Vote Leave bus implies that the £50m per day (which isn’t £50m per day, remember) will be spent on the NHS. It is quite unusual in a campaign to be rebutted by your own battlebus. |
| Admittedly, Elliott only talks about using a “small proportion” of the money that would be saved by not having to pay a contribution to the EU on cutting fuel bills. But the Sun is costing the Gove/Johnson/Stuart proposal at £2bn, which is a quarter of the £8bn-odd that would be saved. That is not a “small proportion”. | Admittedly, Elliott only talks about using a “small proportion” of the money that would be saved by not having to pay a contribution to the EU on cutting fuel bills. But the Sun is costing the Gove/Johnson/Stuart proposal at £2bn, which is a quarter of the £8bn-odd that would be saved. That is not a “small proportion”. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 10.42am BST | at 10.42am BST |
| 10.13am BST | 10.13am BST |
| 10:13 | 10:13 |
| Gove says VAT is a 'very unfair tax' | Gove says VAT is a 'very unfair tax' |
| Michael Gove, the justice secretary and co-convenor of the Vote Leave campaign committee, has been giving interviews this morning. Here are the key points he has been making. | Michael Gove, the justice secretary and co-convenor of the Vote Leave campaign committee, has been giving interviews this morning. Here are the key points he has been making. |
| And fuel bills will be lower for everyone. | And fuel bills will be lower for everyone. |
| In 1993, VAT on household energy bills was imposed. This makes gas and electricity much more expensive. EU rules mean we cannot take VAT off those bills. | In 1993, VAT on household energy bills was imposed. This makes gas and electricity much more expensive. EU rules mean we cannot take VAT off those bills. |
| The least wealthy are hit particularly hard. The poorest households spend three times more of their income on household energy bills than the richest households spend. | The least wealthy are hit particularly hard. The poorest households spend three times more of their income on household energy bills than the richest households spend. |
| As long as we are in the EU, we are not allowed to cut this tax. | As long as we are in the EU, we are not allowed to cut this tax. |
| When we Vote Leave, we will be able to scrap this unfair and damaging tax. | When we Vote Leave, we will be able to scrap this unfair and damaging tax. |
| In an interview this morning, Gove admitted that it would be up to the government to decide after Brexit whether to scrap VAT on fuel and that he personally was not in a position to make this promise. | In an interview this morning, Gove admitted that it would be up to the government to decide after Brexit whether to scrap VAT on fuel and that he personally was not in a position to make this promise. |
| It would be up to the government after we vote to Leave ... I’m not the prime minister; I’m not the chancellor of the exchequer. But one thing is for certain: we could not do it if we remain in the European Union. | It would be up to the government after we vote to Leave ... I’m not the prime minister; I’m not the chancellor of the exchequer. But one thing is for certain: we could not do it if we remain in the European Union. |
| (In the comments, maxfisher points out the Tories don’t exactly have a good record when it comes to cutting VAT.) | (In the comments, maxfisher points out the Tories don’t exactly have a good record when it comes to cutting VAT.) |
| Personally I think it would be the right thing to do, because VAT is a very unfair tax, it hits the poorest people hardest, and actually the cost of fuel for the poorest households is about £105 of their weekly income. I think it would be a really good thing if we could help the poorest people in our country by removing this unfair tax burden on them, which will hit particularly hard as we go into the winter. | Personally I think it would be the right thing to do, because VAT is a very unfair tax, it hits the poorest people hardest, and actually the cost of fuel for the poorest households is about £105 of their weekly income. I think it would be a really good thing if we could help the poorest people in our country by removing this unfair tax burden on them, which will hit particularly hard as we go into the winter. |
| It is worth reminding readers that in his first budget in 2010 George Osborne raised VAT from 17.5% to 20%, raising £13bn a year. | It is worth reminding readers that in his first budget in 2010 George Osborne raised VAT from 17.5% to 20%, raising £13bn a year. |
| I think that David Cameron should stay as prime minister. The country voted for David to be prime minister in the general election last year ... I want David Cameron to be prime minister right up until the next election. | I think that David Cameron should stay as prime minister. The country voted for David to be prime minister in the general election last year ... I want David Cameron to be prime minister right up until the next election. |
| The one thing I absolutely don’t want to do is to be prime minister. | The one thing I absolutely don’t want to do is to be prime minister. |
| I think it is absolutely right to say that some of the people who are backing Remain are the people at the top of multinationals and the top of investment banks who do very well thank you out of the European Union. And I also think it’s the case that the people who suffer most as a result of our membership of the European Union are the poorest, they are the people whose wages are lower and whose access for example to NHS services is more difficult. | I think it is absolutely right to say that some of the people who are backing Remain are the people at the top of multinationals and the top of investment banks who do very well thank you out of the European Union. And I also think it’s the case that the people who suffer most as a result of our membership of the European Union are the poorest, they are the people whose wages are lower and whose access for example to NHS services is more difficult. |
| This is a more tactful version of the argument that Priti Patel, the pro-Brexit employment minister, put in a Sunday Telegraph article at the weekend. Patel was more blunt, implying that Cameron and George Osborne did not understand voters’ concerns about immigration because they were too posh. | This is a more tactful version of the argument that Priti Patel, the pro-Brexit employment minister, put in a Sunday Telegraph article at the weekend. Patel was more blunt, implying that Cameron and George Osborne did not understand voters’ concerns about immigration because they were too posh. |
| I’ve taken some of the quotes from PoliticsHome. | I’ve taken some of the quotes from PoliticsHome. |
| 9.30am BST | 9.30am BST |
| 09:30 | 09:30 |
| According to the Sun, Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, is being lined up to be one of the three speakers representing Remain in the ITV debate being held next week. | According to the Sun, Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, is being lined up to be one of the three speakers representing Remain in the ITV debate being held next week. |
| 9.20am BST | 9.20am BST |
| 09:20 | 09:20 |
| Britain Stronger in Europe have released a video message from Lord Sugar, the Apprentice star, businessman, former Labour peer and - as of last week - government enterprise tsar. | Britain Stronger in Europe have released a video message from Lord Sugar, the Apprentice star, businessman, former Labour peer and - as of last week - government enterprise tsar. |
| A pyschologist would have fun with this. Sugar starts: “I started my business when I was seventeen years old from a council flat in Clapton. I am not a drug dealer, I didn’t rob banks ...” | A pyschologist would have fun with this. Sugar starts: “I started my business when I was seventeen years old from a council flat in Clapton. I am not a drug dealer, I didn’t rob banks ...” |
| Whoever said you did, Alan? | Whoever said you did, Alan? |
| Still, Sugar’s key message is direct and punchy. | Still, Sugar’s key message is direct and punchy. |
| You could not be listening to a bigger gambler than me. I’ve gambled all my life in business, okay, and I am telling you this is a gamble that we cannot afford to take ... | You could not be listening to a bigger gambler than me. I’ve gambled all my life in business, okay, and I am telling you this is a gamble that we cannot afford to take ... |
| Let me put it in very plain terms. This is not a general election, this is not something that’s going to come round in five years’ time, oh, it didn’t work, okay well we’ll have another vote. No. No, this is the most serious vote you most probably will ever make in your lifetime. | Let me put it in very plain terms. This is not a general election, this is not something that’s going to come round in five years’ time, oh, it didn’t work, okay well we’ll have another vote. No. No, this is the most serious vote you most probably will ever make in your lifetime. |
| Now I’ve been in business for many years and I’ve seen plenty of daft ideas and duff proposals in my time and Britain leaving the European Union is one of them. | Now I’ve been in business for many years and I’ve seen plenty of daft ideas and duff proposals in my time and Britain leaving the European Union is one of them. |
| 9.10am BST | 9.10am BST |
| 09:10 | 09:10 |
| Ryan Coetzee, Britain Stronger in Europe’s director of strategy, has responded to my tweet about their costings document. | Ryan Coetzee, Britain Stronger in Europe’s director of strategy, has responded to my tweet about their costings document. |
| @AndrewSparrow It's just a record of what they have claimed. The point is their claims are nonsensical and dishonest. | @AndrewSparrow It's just a record of what they have claimed. The point is their claims are nonsensical and dishonest. |
| 9.01am BST | 9.01am BST |
| 09:01 | 09:01 |
| Britain Stronger in Europe accuse Leave of making spending promises worth £112bn | Britain Stronger in Europe accuse Leave of making spending promises worth £112bn |
| Andrew Sparrow | Andrew Sparrow |
| Good morning. I’m Andrew Sparrow, taking over from Claire. | Good morning. I’m Andrew Sparrow, taking over from Claire. |
| The EU referendum campaign is becoming more like a general election every day. One standard feature of an election campaign is the attack document listing unfunded spending commitments and, as Claire reported earlier, Britain Stronger in Europe have put out their own version this morning, accusing the Leave camp of making promises worth £112bn. | The EU referendum campaign is becoming more like a general election every day. One standard feature of an election campaign is the attack document listing unfunded spending commitments and, as Claire reported earlier, Britain Stronger in Europe have put out their own version this morning, accusing the Leave camp of making promises worth £112bn. |
| The full press notice is not available on the internet yet, but here is the key table. | The full press notice is not available on the internet yet, but here is the key table. |
| A British DARPA is Defence Advance Research Projects Agency. | A British DARPA is Defence Advance Research Projects Agency. |
| Britain Stronger in Europe have adopted a maximalist approach to their costings. | Britain Stronger in Europe have adopted a maximalist approach to their costings. |
| One of the biggest items on the list is an extra £18.2bn for the NHS. They have arrived at this figure by taking literally Vote Leave’s claim that EU membership costs the UK £350m a week (it doesn’t) and that this could all be spent on the NHS. | One of the biggest items on the list is an extra £18.2bn for the NHS. They have arrived at this figure by taking literally Vote Leave’s claim that EU membership costs the UK £350m a week (it doesn’t) and that this could all be spent on the NHS. |
| Another is an extra £18.25bn for pensions, which they have produced by citing a Nigel Farage quote in the Guardian saying the £350m a week money could go on pensions instead. (The difference between the £18.2bn and the £18.25bn is explained by the fact that Farage talked about a saving of £50m a day, not £350m a week, giving a slightly different annual figure.) | Another is an extra £18.25bn for pensions, which they have produced by citing a Nigel Farage quote in the Guardian saying the £350m a week money could go on pensions instead. (The difference between the £18.2bn and the £18.25bn is explained by the fact that Farage talked about a saving of £50m a day, not £350m a week, giving a slightly different annual figure.) |
| And the third biggest item on the list is £17.2bn spent reducing council tax. The source for this, as a Leave camp “spending commitment” is a tweet from the Tory MEP Daniel Hannan saying not having to pay EU contributions could lead to the government being able to cut council tax by 60%. | And the third biggest item on the list is £17.2bn spent reducing council tax. The source for this, as a Leave camp “spending commitment” is a tweet from the Tory MEP Daniel Hannan saying not having to pay EU contributions could lead to the government being able to cut council tax by 60%. |
| Will Straw, Britain Stronger in Europe’s executive director, says his research shows that Leave have been using “fantasy economics”. | Will Straw, Britain Stronger in Europe’s executive director, says his research shows that Leave have been using “fantasy economics”. |
| The Leave campaign has been exposed once again for promoting fantasy economics. There would be no saving and no tax cuts because our economy would be damaged by leaving. | The Leave campaign has been exposed once again for promoting fantasy economics. There would be no saving and no tax cuts because our economy would be damaged by leaving. |