Friday, 30 January 2009

TaxPayers' Alliance Bulletin - 30th January 2009
 
New research: EU Fisheries policy destroys jobs, pushes up food prices and harms economy
 
The first full-scale research paper of the TPA and Global Vision's EU campaign was launched yesterday, looking at the impact of the EU's Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). The comprehensive report, which includes a foreword by renowned botanist and environmental campaigner Prof David Bellamy, examines in detail the way the CFP has driven up food prices, destroyed jobs in the fishing industry and in fishing communities, devastated British fish stocks and resulted in a huge bill for the British economy through administrative costs and lost business.
 
The key findings of the report are shocking:
  • As a result of the EU's Fisheries Policy, the average UK family has to pay £186 a year more on their food bill. This is a total extra cost to British consumers of £4.7 billion a year.
  • Taking into account the cost of subsidies, higher unemployment, wasted resources, lost business and red tape, the CFP costs the British economy a further £2.8 billion a year. This is equivalent to £111 a year for every family in higher taxes and lost income.
  • The policy has devastated the British fishing industry, and has had severe knock on effects for fishing communities. The report estimates that over 97,000 jobs have been lost: 9,000 in fishing and 88,000 in dependent industries onshore.
  • The ecological impact has been even more extreme. 880,000 tonnes of dead fish are dumped into the North Sea every year. Cod, haddock and whiting alone make up 60,000 tonnes of wasted fish poured into the sea - enough to supply Billingsgate Fish Market for two and a half years. 


You can read the full report here. 

Professor David Bellamy (right), famous environmental campaigner and botanist, contributed a foreword to the report and said:
 
"The EU's policies have devastated fish stocks. We are paying billions for a policy that has done huge ecological harm and is pushing cod onto the endangered list. We must put a stop to this man-made catastrophe."
 
Dr Lee Rotherham, EU Policy Analyst at the TaxPayers' Alliance and author of the report, said:
 
“The EU’s control of our fisheries has been a total disaster. Food costs more in the shops, tens of thousands have lost their jobs and millions of fish are being killed then simply dumped at sea. This scandal must stop, and we must take back control of our fisheries."
 


 
To highlight the damage being done by the EU's disastrous mismanagement of fishing, yesterday 30 TPA supporters including Prof David Bellamy held a protest outside the EU Parliament office in London. We attached a huge banner  the slogan "For cod's sake, stop the EU fish disaster" to the TPA office, which is on the opposite side of the street, and assembled a crowd of t-shirted, placard wielding protesters outside the EU office's front door. With photographers and TV cameras in attendances we then dumped a load of dead fish onto their doorstep, highlighting the 880,000 tonnes of dead fish that are dumped back into the North Sea every year as a result of the failed quota system.
 
All the fish involved were donated by supportive fishermen from Essex and fish traders at London's Billingsgate Fish Market, who have seen their industry decimated by horrendous mismanagement from Brussels. To see more photos of the protest, click here.
 
The report has so far been picked up across the media, including:
 
The report and the protest also appeared on BBC Radio 4, BBC News, BBC Radio Scotland, BBC Three Counties Radio, BBC Regions and ITV Meridian.
 

New Postcards - order now!

If you have asked for recruitment postcards over the last few weeks, we apologise for the delay because we are designing two new postcards (one of which is pictured to the right).  You can view both designs in more detail here.  The postcards have proved a great way to recruit sympathetic friends, colleagues, family members and members of the public, so do get in touch if you would like a batch to distribute in your area. To order a batch of postcards to hand out to friends, family, colleagues and the public, please email our grassroots coordinator Tim Aker (tim.aker@taxpayersalliance.com) with your name, address, which design you would like and how many postcards you would like.  They are a great way to get people to join the campaign We shall send them to you as soon as we get the postcards back from the printer.

AM's expenses

This week TPA Campaign Manager Susie Squire returned to Wales to give evidence on Assembly Members’ pay and expenses. Some of you may remember that she gave evidence at the first public meeting in Llandudno, back in December. The panel, headed up by Sir Roger Jones, after taking on board our input, asked for a repeat performance in Cardiff. The panel has been doing a great job of looking at the current system, and how to make it better, and the TPA has been leading the charge for transparency and value for money.

Susie spoke on our behalf about the need for reform of the expenses system, arguing that no further pay rises be given to AMs, that all expenses should be published completely and openly, and that the culture of claiming everything from an iron to an ipod must come to an end. The TPA would like to thank both the panel and the members of the public who attended the meeting for their support and for speaking passionately and eloquently in the public session. We've got real momentum going on this issue, as seen in the report in the Western Mail and the accompanying favourable editorial piece.

Newcastle action day and speaking event
 
As part of our ongoing programme of speaking events around the country, the TPA's Campaign Director, Mark Wallace, will be running a petition day and speaking at no less than three events in Newcastle on Thursday 12th February. If you would like to join us signing up people to our petition, we will be meeting at 2pm at the Monument at the top of Grey Street, Newcastle upon Tyne. To notify Mark that you'll be attending, or if you have any questions, please call 07736 009 548 or email mark.wallace@taxayersalliance.com 

If you are busy during the day but would like to attend a supper and speaker meeting in the evening, you are more than welcome to come and hear Mark speak that night from 8pm at the Berkeley Tavern, Marine Avenue, Whitley Bay, and the price of £8 includes a hot supper. The event is hosted by North Tyneside Conservative Association, and to obtain tickets or for further information please contact Cllr Frank Austin on 0191 253 2572 or by email at frank.austin@northtyneside.gov.uk.

Council chief’s £500,000 golden goodbye

Brighton and Hove Council this week gave their chief executive a half-million-pound pay off on his retirement at…54.  Old dear must be getting on.  Visit our blog here to read the story and how you can contact the leader of the council to tell her how disgusting this pay off really is. 

Best of the blogs
 
 

Posted by Britannia Radio at 21:18