Rebecca Pow, MP for Taunton Deane, voting to stay in

I think you will spend 52 seconds reading this post

When I contacted Rebecca Pow, the Conservative MP for Taunton Deane, at the start of March, she replied that she had not yet decided in which camp she would be in for the UK Referendum on EU Membership. She has now chosen to support the campaign for remaining in the EU, a decision which I salute, and am highly relieved at.

One particular remark that she makes in her statement makes very interesting reading – namely relating to the perceived EU bureaucracy.

Many believe that the ‘civil service’ operating the EU is unacceptably large, however you may be surprised to learn that whilst 55,000 people run the EU, a population of 500 million, an extraordinary 96,000 run our Work and Pensions department here in the UK. On costs, we currently spend 1p in every £1 on our association with Europe, not unreasonable.

Given that 96,000 people run the DWP in the UK, might this explain Iain Duncan-Smith’s recent resignation – it would seem hypocritical that he would oppose the EU’s bureaucracy when the DWP itself employs far more.

Author: mdgb

45 years old, came to Austria in 97/98 for nine months and then moved permanently in July 2000. At the time of starting this blog, I have been in Austria for more than half my lifetime.