,
6 tweets,
2 min read
Read on Twitter
Continuity Remainers have got away for far too long, unchallenged, in declaring that the Vote Leave £350m per week to Brussels claim was a "lie". It was not. telegraph.co.uk/politics/2019/…
If you have a salary of £25,000 is it a "lie" to say that you get paid £500 per week? But don't get £500 paid into your account by your employer each week, do you, or even 4.3 times that per month? So it's a "lie" to claim your pay is £500 per week, right?
"Ah, but what counts is the actual overall net amount we end up paying in respect of each week. That wasn't £350m." No. *That* (that actual overall net amount) was more like £325m-£340m, though by now it would be much much more than that.
Why's that? Well because, each week, as well as the gross contribution (>£350m) & the rebate (~£100m) there were also the accrued liabilities (~£70-90m). The overall net amount was roughly £350m. The figure Vote Leave quoted was *correct* for the net as well as gross contribution
It's not even correct to say the £350m was "strictly not a lie but misleading". What would have been misleading would have been to include the rebate but not the accrued liabilities, since that would lead to a considerable understatement of the overall net cost.
Note - & this is important - that none of this is changed by the fact that we avoid the "accrued liabilities" becoming true obligations by leaving. If we had Remained then the actual overall net figure paid in respect of each week would have been ~£350m. That's the truth.
