[Margaret Pilkington]

Originally Posted by Burningman

Lancashire county as a whole has fared well in the latest funding rounds with some £211m allocated from the European Regional Development Fund and the European Social Fund for 2014 to 2020. Only London, Leeds, Manchester and Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly received higher allocations.

How has funding from the EU ever helped Lancashire? - Lancashire Evening Post

There is a misconception that the EU gives us money. They do not....they take money from us( currently this stands at 13 billion pounds per annum. We get a rebate of 4.5 billion pounds back as a rebate secured by Margaret Thatcher), and then if we are good, fill out the forms properly, they give us what we gave them in the first place...but it has to be spent how they tell us....we cannot decide to spend it in any other fashion.

So £211 million pounds over 6 years is not a great chunk of money when you consider what we have paid in

This has to be pointed out to the beneificiaries by posters proclaiming the fact that the project is supported/funded by the EU...this I presume is so that we can feel grateful for the 'handout'(which is OUR money).

With the greatest respect Burningman, you are not in a position to judge what is happening here.
I presume that you have some sort of democracy over in the US.....you know, the kind of thing where you elect representatives to pass your laws and statutes.
i presume that these laws are debated in open chamber.....that you are aware of who is voting for what and if your senator, congressman stuffs up......next time the vote comes round you give him the flick.
You have some element of control.....a democratic choice.

The EU does not operate with such transparency.
The people making the rules are appointed by committees. The meetings where laws and regulations that affect every part of our lives, are conducted behind closed doors with no record of who said what or how these rules/laws have been debated.
Worst of all if they stuff up we cannot remove them....they are not accountable(which means they can be lobbied by those with money...banks, large corporations...so whoever has the most money has them in the palm of their hands).
Now if you think this is right or fair that we should be denied democracy and a right to say in what direction our country goes.....and who we can allow to come to our country......well, I'd be interested to hear why you thought such a situation was fair and your reasoning for considering it to be so.