Never let the facts stand in the way

We never let the facts stand in the way of crazy Eurosceptic claims, or so says Richard Corbett. Apparently:

The House of Commons library has estimated that EU legislation only accounts for about 9% of new regulations adopted in Britain each year, rather than the 50% or more often claimed by eurosceptics.

This number is an intriguing one, because if it reflected the truth, it really would undermine a huge amount of what we are fighting about. Whilst many people would say “That’s still 9% too much”, it would cut down the impact of our message. But hang on a minute, didn’t Gordon Brown make a totally different claim in the budget. He clearly said that 50% of regulations came from Brussels. So why the difference? Eurosceptic Author, Linsay Jenkins says that Richard Corbett forgets, most conveniently, EU directives enacted through the Houses of Parliament. When these are included, even Scottish Raj’s estimate could be a conservative one. Its all a matter of which facts you include.