While the debate over Europe rumbles on, it’s worth highlighting one bright spot in the OBR’s recent document of doom which has largely slipped past Westminster’s radar: by their forecasts, we will pay the EU £2 billion less this year than we were expecting to in March.
Instead of the £9 billion ‘net contribution to the EU budget’ forecast for 2011-12 nine months ago, the OBR now estimates it’ll be £6.9 billion. That represents a 17 per cent real terms
cut on the £8.1 billion we paid last year, instead of an 8 per cent increase:
Why the reduction? The OBR gives a few reasons:
By themselves, each of these factors means just a few hundred million less sent to the EU. But added up, they come to an extraordinary figure — and one which ought not go unnoticed.
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