It was reported today that the Government is to spend almost £10 million circulating a leaflet to every household regarding the EU referendum claiming 85% of the public had said they wanted more information.
The Government defended the spending by pointing to independent polling indicating 85 per cent of voters wanted more information to help them make a decision. That may be the case but this could have been provided without advising people that the Government believes voting to remain in the European Union is the best decision for the UK.
Backers of the Brexit-backing campaigns expressed outrage at the move to flood the country with pro-EU ‘propaganda’ just weeks before the June 23 poll.
Environmental Secretary, Liz Truss, defending the government’s position, said, ‘This referendum will be a huge decision for our country, perhaps the biggest we will make in our lifetimes and it is crucial that the public have clear and accessible information.
‘Independent polling carried out on behalf of the Government made clear that 85% of people want more information from the Government to help make an informed decision.
‘The document makes clear why EU membership brings economic security, peace and stability.
‘It also sets out that if the UK voted to leave, the resulting economic shock would put pressure on the value of the pound, which would risk higher prices of some household goods.’
Tory MP Steve Baker, a leading member of the Vote Leave campaign said, ‘The Government is about to spend more taxpayers’ money propagandising for the pro-EU Britain Stronger in Europe campaign than Vote Leave will be allowed to spend from voluntary donations during the formal period.
Peter Bone, a co-founder of the Grassroots Out campaign, said: ‘This is an outrageous way to spend hard-working taxpayers money. ‘Many recent polls have shown that the majority of the UK public is actually in favour of leaving the EU so to spend their money on a pro-EU propaganda exercise is an inexcusable waste.
Both official campaigns will get to send their own taxpayer-funded leaflet to every household ahead of the poll.
The Electoral Commission will also send a leaflet featuring one page each from both official campaigns.
The 16-page leaflet – half of which is covered in pictures – leaves no room for doubt about the Government’s view that EU membership is good for Britain. Its front cover reads ‘Why the Government believes that voting to remain in the European Union is the best decision for the UK’.
It beggars belief that the Government decided to put this important EU referendum question to the people and then proceed to spend almost £10 million of taxpayers money to influence how they vote.
Some media outlets have said this story was released today to take the heat off David Cameron and George Osborne who are being pressed by the media to explain their personal finances in the light of the ‘Panama Papers’ leakage.
Just when you thought this lot couldnt get any worse they pull this one out of the bag ! this shows the utter lack of respect for the voting public as if we are surprised by that.We are not only being fed misleading ever more desparate propaganda by the Government but we are as taxpayers funding this £10 million quid as well !!!! .I thought Liebour were bad but this lot run them a close second.
I missed that important point Graham. Those that will vote Brexit are paying towards the enemy camps propaganda.
Cameron’s response to the clamour, Is this ,his government is not unbiased in the forthcoming vote. So see no problem spending money to back the remain vote. Another case of you can stuff representative democracy. I’m your boss not your servant. A bit like the BBC, who’ve been getting away with that line for 50 years.
Still, perhaps even the lemming folk, are getting p*ssed ,off and it will increase the Brexit vote .
After all my view is anything this or previous governments recommend, should be regarded as toxic , at least to us natives of this island.
Did anyone REALLY think having a referendum on this very important subject would be truely free and fair and wouldn’t involve all the organs of the British state being pressed into action on the side of the Yes to staying-in campaign? That is why I have always felt that having a referendum would be a bit of a farce and the result would lack legitimacy. Far better to leave this issue to party politics and for people to vote for pro-British sovereignty parties but then we don’t have a proper real democracy with a fair voting system in this country unlike the vast majority of our fellow Europeans so that way of expressing our views is vastly more difficult than it is on the Continent.
If the result is Yes to staying-in and sadly that is probably what will happen as referendums normally do favor the status quo then after all this the result will lack real legitmacy and the fight continues the next day.
( Party Official ) Most people know that the Government can and indeed are obliged to put out Information with a duty to keep it ‘ NEUTRAL. This blatent mis use of public funds has been ‘ JUSTIFIED ‘ by a dodgy , loaded questionnaire. The question probably was do you know absolutely EVERYTHING about the E.U. and therefore are you qualified to make a decision in the referendum ?
I agree wholeheartedly with Graham. This doesn’t change my opinion one iota. I shall be voting to leave ,as will a lot of my friends and colleagues.
I shall be too. It will be my first explicit vote on the subject thanks to the blatantly undemocratic Tory government of John Major refusing to give me a referendum at the time of the Maastrict Treaty which he should have given the country and Labour not giving us one on the Amsterdam Treaty. Let’s hope the vote for Brexit is fairly evenly distributed across the country and that the vote reveals not all Scots are taken-in by the SNP’s attempt to create division over this vote.
( Party Official ) Yes Robert. All as per British Democratic Party Policy.
About the only way the Yes to staying-in camp could persuade me that was the right way to vote in this referendum would be if the EU forced this country to adopt a far more democratic voting system ie a Proportional Representation system (and preferably not the Liberal Democrat’s silly choice of the Single Transferable Vote) as FPTP is an undemocratic farce but then if the EU did do this Cameron and his arrogant chums would take Britain out without a referendum anyway! One of the main reasons to come out is to improve our democracy but without PR we don’t have much of that in the first place! Sadly, I believe this referendum will be lost and it will be mostly due to the fact the status quo normally does win referendums and also because people might well turn their nose up at the sort of people promoting Brexit. The out campaign needs to be more broadly-based with people from both Right and Left of the political spectrum.
( Party Official ) It is no surprise to me , Steven , that you would VOTE YES to staying IN if they adopted Proportional Representation. Also one of the things about the OUT Camp is that IT DOES encompass people over a broad spectrum , from left to right.
One of the main reasons the anti-EU campaigners mention as a point in favour of leaving the EU is that the EU is undemocratic and has made our democracy weaker The problem is though that Britain isn’t very democratic anyway and wasn’t even in the days before we joined the then Common Market. For instance, we have no fair voting system of proportional representation like nearly all the other EU members have and we don’t have a written constitution guaranteeing us rights such as freedom of speech and freedom of assembly. Also, many of the anti-EU campaigners are very Right-wing Tories who are totally opposed to proportional representation so they should be careful to avoid castigating the EU as anti-democratic when their own adherence to democratic values is matter for some serious debate.
The 1975 referendum (before my time) on the no to staying-in side DID have people from both the ‘Left’ and the ‘Right’ of the spectrum ie Enoch Powell and Tony Benn. Today’s campaign seems to be made-up exclusively of Thatcherite Tories like Boris Johnson. If the Left are involved on the No side they are barely visible to my eyes and if this campaign is going to succeed they need to make their arguments as some of them are quite good. Unfortunately, there are many in this country who either won’t vote or will vote to stay-in if they think the only people who wish us to leave are Thatcherite Tories.
I hope these left-wing voices against our membership speak-up soon. They have some excellent points to make and if they do this then the campaign for leaving will be more VISIBLY broadly-based which can only help to strengthen it and help it to succeed.
I am constantly beguiled by those on the ‘in’ campaign.There are no arguments to be had.
One of the best critiques of the whole debacle is by Leo McKinstry
Enjoy!
http://www.betteroffout.net/leo-mckinstry-the-eu-progressive-trendy-spectacular-failure-islington-brexit-voices-for-britain/?utm_source=4+Freedom+weekly+highlights+-+8+April&utm_campaign=4+Freedom+weekly+highlights&utm_medium=email
A very good article. As he explains, it is curious as to why the Labour Party now supports our membership when in the 1970’s and before the party had many anti-Common Market critics. Indeed, how can a party that was and still is supposedly for ‘the working classes’ support membership of a trans-national club that prevents the British government from having a proper industrial policy and protecting our manufacturing base? I suppose it is that old bugbear of the Left ie you shouldn’t be seen to be ‘nationalist’ as nationalism is so inherently wrong!
( Party Official ) UPDATE. Despite criticism that the Government SUPPOSED INFORMATION LEAFLET being one sided , factually incorrect propaganda , the Prime Minister has just had the bare faced cheek and audacity to say ; ” the Government was not neutral in the referendum and the cost was money well spent. With his logic and under the rules , the Conservative Party SHOULD HAVE PAID !
Leo McKinstry is one of the few writers in our papers that is spot on everytime. I occasionally buy the Express, but half of it is adverts thesedays.
While on the subject of newspapers, not so long ago a letter appeared in the Evening Standard which I thought summed up perfectly what we have been saying about the EU, Islam and ”racism”. It was in response to an anti UKIP article which had appeared in the paper. Though the writer of the letter stated clear facts that UKIP would never openly acknowledge. The best letter I have ever read in a newspaper :
FREE SPEECH IS BEING ERODED.
With regard to Matthew d’Anconas demolition job on ”racist” Nigel Farage : it would appear that, if one speaks about evident physiological, cultural and psychological differences between east and south Asians, Africans and Europeans, one is a ”racist”. If one remarks on the gulf between the secular, democratic West and its underlying Christian values, and theocratic Muslim countries, one is an ”Islamophobe”. If one champions this islands freedoms against the undemocratic structures of the EU, one is a ”little Englander”. Camille Paglia has said political correctness is the new fascism. Did we have the Reformation, the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment for this ?
I’m not going to put the chaps name here, but all I can say is well done that man.
( Party Official ) Given that our Prime Minister REFUSES to acknowledge the sheer unfairness of using Tax Payers money to send everyone a STAY IN the E.U.SUPERSTATE booklet , when it comes , I am sending it back. Return to sender as follows ; The Prime Minister , 10 , Downing st. London SW1a 2aa !
( Party Official ) Leaks say that the booklet is full of INACURACIES ( surely not ! ) so I am that annoyed I am not sure wheather I will attach a stamp , as recommended by Nigel Farage , POSSIBLY NOT !
It was delivered to my house two days ago. Rest assured, those leaks are spot-on! One of the classic pieces of misinformation in it is the notion that Britain is still an independent country. Apparently, this ridiculous unelected Tory government believes you can be in the EU and NOT lose any of your national sovereignty! Ted Heath LIED to the country in 1973 about the consequences of Britain joining the then Common Market and he assured the country we would lose no national sovereignty! The Tories are STILL lying and following their 50 plus year strategy of denying the obvious with regard to this issue.
( Party Official ) and ACTIVIST ! My disgusting , untrue , booklet came today. One for our household , I would have liked to keep one for posterity ! Anyway , it gives me great pleasure to inform you that I have posted it back to the REAL SENDER. Weighed and sized by the post office and in a brown envelope it went to ; The Prime Minister 10 , Downing st. London , SW1A 2AA.
( Party Official ) Please take the trouble to do this. Imagine if David Cameron got MILLIONS of these back ! It is a great way to show him he should be fair and Democratic and NOT TREAT US ALL WITH TOTAL CONTEMPT !
According to the tax funded booklet, in Britain we ”control our own borders”…hmm, looking around me it does not seem as if we have ANY borders.
( Party Official ) Although it broke every Rule in the book and showed Mr. Cameron’s CHARACTER for what it is , I am GLAD he did it ! This Political Fantasy booklet will PROVE to be the POLITICAL HOWLER , OR ‘OWN GOAL ‘ if you prefer , OF THE CENTUARY !