John Redwood (Wokingham) (Con): Do not the common agricultural, fishing and energy policies do damage to domestic producers and add to the colossal deficit we always run with the rest of the EU while running a trade surplus with the rest of the world? What can we do about those unfairnesses if we stay in the European Union?
The Prime Minister (Mr David Cameron): We have made a lot of progress in recent years. The wine lakes and butter mountains are a thing of the past. We have made big reforms to the common fisheries policy. I know that my right hon. Friend studies these things very closely, but although we have a deficit with the EU on goods, we have a substantial surplus when it comes to services. We have to think about the future and how we safeguard the services industries as well as making sure that our position in the single market is open.
February 24, 2016
John, allow me to translate for those who do not speak ‘politics’ –
Your question was ‘What can we do about those unfairnesses if we stay in the European Union?’.
The PM’s answer in plain English : ‘Nothing’.
February 25, 2016
Quite right.