Gordon
Lawrence, Sheffield. Yorks Post.
It is not unusual to see such a successful businessman, as Lord Haskins
who is now ensconced comfortably within the corporate hierarchy, to be so
committed to the Remain lobby. But it is rare for such a prominent business
personage to be an ardent devotee of EU regulation. The surprise disappears
however when his CV is looked into.
He has been involved with a number of quangos and other committees for
years including the Britain in Europe campaign and Chairman of the European
Movement. A past member of the Labour Party, he is now in harmony with the likes
of Heseltine, Patten, Major and Clarke on the Brexit counterfight.
I’m afraid Lord Haskins, in a recent Yorkshire Post article, is clutching
at straws to blame the lack of adhering to EU regulation for the Grenfell fire
disaster. It is not false but a fly in his whole thesis.
EU regulation No 2257/94, contrary to Haskins’ claim to dismiss it as a
myth, did refer to “abnormal curvature” of bananas and cucumbers, which was
subsequently abandoned owing to the ridicule and outcry generated in the popular
media. What were they doing, in the first place, intervening in innocent green
groceries? Systemic power that they, the Eurocrats, hold is almost invariably
exercised to excess.
The diesel fiasco is an outstanding example of egregious regulation. The
Labour government’s obsession with reducing CO2 climate change resulted in the
incentive for the public to buy diesel vehicles via tax inducement. Pollution
from such vehicles is now recognised as a serious threat to human health. Lord
Haskins underestimates the harm that overzealous bureaucracy can
generate.
On a general level, EU bureaucracy, epitomised by the deluge of
regulation, has encumbered the 28 states with wealth-destroying legislation,
which has hindered growth and inhibited Europe’s ability to keep up with rival
economic nations and blocs that do not suffer from such prolific interventionist
activity.
Regulation on the scale that the EU exercises destroys enterprise and
innovation in spite of Lord Haskins’ attempts to justify
it.
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