At a time when public services are been cut to pay down the appalling levels of debt left by Labour, local MP Andrew Percy refused this week to vote in favour of increasing Britain's contribution to the EU.
In a deal signed by the previous Labour Government, British taxpayers are being asked to send an extra £435 million to the EU next year which includes an increase in the EU's administration budget of 2.5%!
Andrew says, "I was simply not prepared to vote to send more of the hard working people of Brigg and Goole's taxes over to Brussels. UK taxpayers already pay £4.7 billion to the EU and under the deal signed by Tony Blair our contributions are forecast to increase to £8.2 billion by 2015.
We pay in far more than we get back and as a country we run a massive trade deficit with the EU meaning we import much more from Europe than we export.
This increase would have been enough to fund an extra 22,000 soldiers or 6,000 doctors. As I said in the House of Commons, I was not prepared to come back home and justify these increases to the hard working folk here in Brigg and Goole. That is why I defied a three line whip and voted to reduce our payments to the EU by 25%. We are having to make necessary cuts to our public services and the EU needs to get real and accept that it too needs to rein in its spending.
In fairness to the Government they had little choice on this issue as Labour had already committed us legally to paying more. However, I felt we should go back to the EU and demand they look at their budget again.
I promised to be a strong independent voice when I was elected and the fact I defied a three line whip again in order to stand up for local taxpayers, proves that I meant it."