Can We Afford the EU?

Members of the European Parliament have voted to increase British payments to the EU by £5 million per day, on top of our current net contribution to the European budget of £4.1 billion a year.   Two-thirds of the total EU budget goes to the Common Agricultural Policy, benefiting French farmers a great deal more than it benefits us (which it doesn't at all).   Millions are squandered on grandiose projects.   Waste is endemic and corruption is rife - large sums go into the pockets of corrupt politicians in countries that shall remain nameless.

The question is:  can we honestly afford all this?   We are the second biggest net contributor after Germany.   While this money is pouring out of the country, we are in the depths of a recession, our economy is at rock-bottom, we owe more money as a nation than ever in our history, our soldiers are dying in Afghanistan for lack of proper equipment, we are all being asked to tighten our belts and advised by newspaper cookery pages on how to cook nettles - it can't go on!
 
More than 25% of voters in the European elections earlier this year voted for parties that want to take Britain out of the EU.   Disaffection is felt throughout the country, and things are unlikely to get better.   In fact they are likely to get much worse as the EU's grip tightens with the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty.

Nobody can point to any benefit to this country from the EU - on the contrary, it is helping to ruin us.