The post you are reporting:
Oh, this is so dull!
We can expect to be inundated with loads of anti EU stuff as the Little Englanders brush down their Union Flag waistcoats, don their Top Hats, leash their Bulldogs and shout abuse at their television or on any internet forum, inflamed by their newspapers warning them of the foreigners coming over here stealing our jobs and women and eating our children................
Lord Howell of Guildford (Conservative) seems to have a better grasp on reality:
"This Government believe that EU membership is in our interests. The Single Market is the world's most important trading zone, generating total GDP of over £10.5 trillion in 2009 and giving us access to 500 million consumers without the barriers of customs or tariffs. The resultant economic benefits for individuals are very real with approximately 3.5 million jobs, ie 10 per cent of the UK workforce, benefiting from exports to EU member states. The beneficial effect of EU trade on UK households is estimated at between £1,100 and £3,300 per year.
EU membership also gives us better leverage internationally. Collective action gives us more negotiating power and allows us to better achieve our international security objectives on issues such as conflict prevention, stabilisation, climate change, human rights and development. For British citizens, the benefits of EU membership are many and varied, from free movement across EU member states, to the option to study and work within the EU without requiring a work permit, to the European Health Card (EHIC), which enables UK holiday-makers and travellers to receive free or reduced cost healthcare on temporary visits to EU member states.
On this basis, and given the complexity and cost of measuring the many variables involved, the Government do not consider it appropriate to conduct their own cost benefit analysis of UK EU membership".
Hansard, 8th February 2011.