The Pre-Budget report was a depressing affair of more borrowing, more public spending, and more tax. In contrast with Ireland where public spending restraint and tax cuts were the order of the day! But tucked away in the PBR was this little gem…

Official figures show Britain’s net contributions to the European Union will jump from £4.8billion in 2009/10 to £6billion in 2010/11.

This means that Britain’s contribution to the Commission will have doubled in just three years from £3billion in 2008/09, according to footnotes in the 216-page pre-Budget report.

…Campaigners said the increase in 2009/10 because it is the first year when the phasing out of the rebate begins. The part-scrapping of the rebate is “back-end loaded” so that the cost of Britain’s membership will rise substantially.

The rebate to Britain from the EU is worth £5.6billion in 2008/09, £5.1billion in 2009/10, and £3.3billion in 2010/11.

That £6bn NET contribution is the equivalent to £350 for every family in the UK.

It is absolutely disgraceful that at a time when we are going through the worst economic crisis in living memory, that already hard pressed families are having to pay an addition £350 in tax every year for the privilege of being governed by a costly undemocratic bureaucracy.