I briefly caught a BBC interview the other night. It involved an interview with a couple of MPs whose names are not well known, and even if I mentioned them you will forget after about 10 seconds. One was Tory and the other was a LibDem. What quite frankly astonished me was the Tory, an individual who was clearly anti-EU, spouting complete and utter BS as he rattled off some well versed anti-EU myths, things that are simply not factual.
It is perhaps to be expected because an individual with a specific political bias will buy into political myths. What was perhaps truly astonishing was that he was not challenged by the BBC interviewer. Bias at the BBC, the Brexit Broadcasting Corporation as some now seriously refer to it, is a topic for another day. Instead let’s mull over some of the popular myths he spouted as fact.
EU MYTH: We don’t want the Unelected commissioners in Brussels imposing laws on us
It is true indeed that there is an un-elected commission in Brussels. Every democracy has something akin to this. In the UK we call that body the civil service. To illustrate that point, the negotiated withdrawal agreement was not drafted nor negotiated by an elected MP. Instead it was negotiated and drafted on the UK side by a UK civil servant Oliver Robbins.
Stepping back to the big picture, in exactly the same way, the commission will draft legislation, but cannot impose it. Only the elected MEPs (Members of the European Parliament) can endorse it and make it official. If you live in the UK, then you might not remember doing so, but you did vote for your MEP. God help the UK, they elected Nigel Farage as an MEP along with a raft of UKIP nuts to represent UK interests.
Should the BBC interviewer have known about and understood the “unelected commission” myth and busted it?
Yes, here is the BBC website debunking it.
One last thought on this one. Is the EU awash with bureaucrats?
The EU, has a total of 33,000 to handle the administration of 27 nation states. The UK has 400,000 civil servants.
EU MYTH: If we stay in the EU our Youth Unemployment will shoot up, look at Greece
Once again it is true that there is high youth unemployment in EU member state Greece. The idea that by being part of the EU will lead to the same for the UK is utter BS. This is easily demonstrated by the fact that the UK has been an EU member for over 40 years along with many other nations and that EU membership has not resulted in the same fate.
EU MYTH: By leaving the EU the UK will be far better off.
Those leading the charge on this claim, tend not to actually believe it in practise. Generally many of the leading campaigners are actively seeking catastrophe and chaos simply to enrich themselves.
Former Tory deputy chairman Lord Ashcroft is the latest Leave campaigner to lay himself open to accusations of talking down Britain, after advising companies to base themselves in Malta if they want an EU “presence” after Brexit.
“As a hard-nosed, self-made businessman, I believe that Malta represents the best destination for ambitious UK firms that must have a post-Brexit presence in the European Union,” he wrote on ConservativeHome.
He joins a growing bunch of Brexiteers who seem perfectly able to balance their anti-Brussels feelings at the ballot box with pro-EU views in front of the bank manager.
According to the Financial Times:
“The fund management company where Jacob Rees-Mogg is a partner has set up a fund in Dublin, as asset managers worry about being cut off from European investors after Brexit.
“Mr Rees-Mogg, the Conservative MP and firm Brexit supporter, has long argued that the UK will be better off outside the EU. But Somerset Capital Management, the investment house he co-founded, received approval from the Irish regulator in March for a version of its £1.4bn Somerset Emerging Markets Dividend Growth fund.”
According to Forbes:
“In an op-ed in the Financial Times, the Chief Global Strategist for Charles Stanley, John Redwood, advises investors to remove their money from the United Kingdom.”
“Time to look further afield as the UK economy hits the brakes”, says his headline.”
These con-men are pushing a hard Brexit for their own personal benefit, not yours, and the above are not isolated cases, there are more.
See 20 years of FAKE NEWS about EU by UK press.
Why is there such strong anti-EU bias in the UK and why do such myths take root and gain traction with the public?
The essence of this bias rests firmly in a decades long campaign of pure fiction that has been promoted as fact by various UK tabloids. If you personally have an anti-EU bias then you are most probably the fruit of this labour of deception, you have been successfully played.
The following originally comes from a blog posting here …
Forget about Russian meddling or US companies pushing fake and ‘dark’ news on the internet to influence the Brexit vote.
Fake news to influence the UK public to vote for Brexit has mostly come from our very own so-called professional journalists right here in the UK.
Here’s a list of fake news by the UK press over the last 20 years. Every single story here has been debunked as fake news.
It’s hard to pick just one but my personal favourites are ‘Euronotes cause impotence‘ by the Daily Mail and ‘EU puts speed limit on children’s roundabouts‘ from the always entertaining Daily Express.
Read through the list and vote for your own ‘favourite’ in the comments section below – the most popular will win a ‘prize’for ‘Most Ridiculous EU Fake News’.
Enjoy (or maybe despair):
EC regulations to ban playgrounds – Daily Express
Rolling acres outlawed by Brussels – The Telegraph
EU to scrap British exams – Sunday Express
Obscure EU law halting the sale of English oak seeds – Mail on Sunday
EU may try to ban sweet and toy ads – The Times
EU to tell British farmers what they can grow – Daily Mail
EU ‘Bans Boozing’ – Daily Star
Light ale to be forced to change its name by Eurocrats – Daily Mail
EU fanatics to be forced to sing dire anthem about EU ‘Motherland’ – The Sun
British apple trees facing chop by EU – The Times
EC plan to ban noisy toys – Sunday People
EU to ban bagpipes and trapeze artists – The Sun
Children to be banned from blowing up balloons, under EU safety rules – Daily Telegraph
Straight cucumbers – The Sun
Curved bananas banned by Brussels bureaucrats – The Sun, Daily Mail, Daily Express
Brussels bans barmaids from showing cleavage – The Sun, Daily Telegraph
Rumpole’s wig to scrapped by EU – Mail on Sunday
Church bells silenced by fear of EU law – Daily Telegraph
Motorists to be charged to drive in city centres under EU plans – Daily Telegraph
EU to stop binge drinking by slapping extra tax on our booze – The Sun
Brandy butter to be renamed ‘brandy spreadable fat’ – The European
British loaf of bread under threat from EU – Daily Mail
Truckers face EU ban on fry-ups – The Sun
EU to ban Union Flag from British meat packs – Daily Express
EU seeks to outlaw 60 dog breeds – Europa News Agency
Double-decker buses to be banned – Daily Telegraph
EU bans eating competition cakes – Timesonline
Now EU officials want control of your CANDLES – Daily Express
21-gun salutes are just too loud, Brussels tells the Royal Artillery – Mail on Sunday
Brussels threatens charity shops and car boot sales – Daily Mail
Plot to axe British number plates for standardised EU design – Daily Express
Women to be asked intimate details about sex lives in planned EU census – Daily Express
British cheese faces extinction under EU rules – PA News
EU meddlers ban kids on milk rounds – The Sun, The Telegraph
British chocolate to be renamed ‘vegelate’ under EU rules – Daily Mail
EU to ban church bells – Daily Telegraph
British film producers warn of new EU threat to industry – The Independent
Kilts to be branded womenswear by EU – Daily Record
EU to ban double decker buses – Daily Mail
Cod to be renamed ‘Gadus’ thanks to EU – Daily Mail
Brussels to restrict drinking habits of Britain’s coffee lovers – Daily Express
EU responsible for your hay fever – Daily Mail, The Times
Condom dimensions to be harmonised – Independent on Sunday
EU wants to BAN your photos of the London Eye – Daily Express
Corgis to be banned by EU – Daily Mail
EU forcing cows to wear nappies – Daily Mail
Eurocrats to ban crayons and colouring pencils – The Sun
Smoky bacon crisps face EU ban – Sunday Times
EU outlaws teeth whitening products – Daily Mail
Domain names – ‘.uk’ to be replaced by ‘.eu’ – Daily Mail
Brussels to ban HGV drivers from wearing glasses – The Times
New eggs cannot be called eggs – Daily Mail
EU to ban selling eggs by the dozen – Daily Mail
UK to be forced to adopt continental two pin plug – Daily Star, Daily Mail
EU targets traditional Sunday roast – Sun on Sunday
English Channel to be re-named ‘Anglo-French Pond’ – Daily Mail
Brussels to force EU flag on England shirts – Daily Mail
EU orders farmers to give toys to pigs – The Times
Firemen’s poles outlawed by EU – Daily Mail
Euro ban on food waste means swans cannot be fed – The Observer
Noise regulations to force football goers to wear earplugs – The Sun
Traditional Irish funeral under threat from EU – Daily Telegraph, The Times
EU to ban high-heel shoes for hairdressers – Daily Express
Commission to force fishermen to wear hairnets – Daily Telegraph
Brussels to ban herbal cures – Daily Express
Bureaucrats declare Britain is “not an island”– the Guardian
EU bid to ban life sentences for murderers – Daily Express
New EU map makes Kent part of France – Sunday Telegraph
EU tells Welsh how to grow their leeks – The Times
EU to ban lollipop ladies’ sticks – News of the World
EU plot to rename Trafalgar Square & Waterloo station – Daily Express
UK milk ‘pinta’ threatened by Brussels – The Sun
EU bans ‘mince’ pies – Daily Mail
Eurocrats say Santa must be a woman – The Sun
Now EU crackpots demand gypsy MPs – Daily Express
Brussels to outlaw mushy peas – The Sun, Daily Mail, Telegraph, Times
Brussels says shellfish must be given rest breaks on journeys – The Times
Pets must be pressure cooked after death – Sunday Telegraph
EU puts speed limit on children’s roundabouts – Daily Express
2-for-1 bargains to be scrapped by EU – Daily Mirror
EU madness: chat up bar girl and pub will be fined – Daily Star
Queen to be forced to get her own tea by EU – The Sun
EU tells women to hand in worn-out sex toys – The Sun
British rhubarb to be straight – The Sun
EU to ban rocking horses – The Sun
Scotch whisky rebranded a dangerous chemical by EU – Daily Telegraph
Brussels ban on pints of shandy – The Times
“High up” signs to be put on mountains – BBC
Euronotes cause impotence – Daily Mail
EU to ban under 16-year-olds from using Facebook – Daily Mail
Strawberries must be oval – The Sun
EU orders swings to be pulled down – Daily Express
Tea bags banned from being recycled – BBC
British lav to be replaced with Euro-loo – The Sun
Unwanted Valentine’s cards to be defined as sexual harrasment – Daily Telegraph
Bosses to be told what colour carpets to buy by EU – Daily Star
EU says British yoghurt to be renamed ‘Fermented Milk Pudding’ – Sunday Mirror
EU to ban zipper trousers – The Sun
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Remember that all of the above have been robustly debunked. None of it, not one, is true.
