As the Lib Dems, SNP, Greens and Labour enter a competition to see who can propose the most commitment to more EU taxes, tariffs and laws we need to remind ourselves of why we voted for Brexit and how it has already brought us some important wins. This is despite an establishment of civil service, courts, universities and too many MPs out to prevent Brexit by tying us firmly to the EU.
1. Large financial savings on membership costs. Had we stayed in with the increased budget it would be running at more than £21 bn a year of extra gross spend on EU matters including taxes we had to pay to them. Clearly if we wanted to rejoin terms would be even worse, likely to be at least £25 bn.
2. Keeping all of our customs revenue and all our plastics tax instead of surrendering most of it to the EU, giving us £5 bn more.
3. Allowing us to sign trade deals with TPP and India promoting our non EU trade which is 59% of our exports. Trade has grown well since the vote.
4. Boosting our service exports, 57% of our total exports , by allowing us to insert service sector clauses into trade deals which the EU was reluctant to do. There has been great growth is service trade since we left.
5. Allowing us to develop the first anti covid vaccine and lift lockdown earlier
6. Allowing us to take VAT off green goods and female hygiene products.
7. Allowing us to take tariffs off all things we do not make or grow for ourselves, and off all materials and components needed by UK industry
8. Allowing us to reduce bad regulation of financial services to assist our successful financial sector
9. Permitted us to switch student support from Erasmus which mainly paid EU students to come to the UK and some to UK students to study in the EU, to Turing where all the money goes to UK students studying anywhere in the world.
10. We have been able to ban the export of live animals and improve standards of animal welfare.
December 11, 2025
Good morning
1. We should not be paying anything let alone ‘most of it’s. Plus. What was the point if the UK Government just pocketed the savings itself and not passed it on to us ? We should not be paying any tax that EU contrived.
3. Yeah, a trade deal with India that allows Indian’s to undercut UK workers.
4. Services not manufacturing because energy costs are too high.
5. Neither of which was necessary.
6. Yes, but not energy bills for some strange reason ?
8. But not for manufacturing.
All in all very disapointing. Shame you could not mention that we have finally taken back our fishing grounds.