That terrible Labour government, giving our money away to those unelected eurocrats making 75% of our laws in Brussels! At least if we had a Conservative government they would stop the gush of sterling into the hands of the European Union, right?

Wrong. The Telegraph has today revealed that the Tories want to increase funding to the European Union if there is a tinkering with the Common Agricultural Policy. That’s right, more money for the EU to play around with for propaganda and bureaucrats.

Those who contest that the Tories aren’t so keen on the EU should remember that this is not coming from a random backbencher or assorted group of europhile misfits in their party (Cameron’s front bench, ahem), but Mark Francois, the Shadow Europe Minister.

As Labour MP Frank Field puts it: “The Europhiles will need to be on their mettle to defend a record 46% increase in taxpayers’ money going to the EU over a three year period when belts are being tightened all over Britain.”

Thankfully UKIP don’t think it’s a record that can be defended or justified in any manner. While the Tories want to tinker with how the EU takes and spends our money, the far more obvious choice of stopping such payments seems likely to win favour with those ordinary voters who don’t need to worry about being on Jose Barroso’s Christmas card list.