An article co-authored by Boris Johnson and Michael Gove in The Sun has resurfaced – almost eight years after it was first published.
The two former Tory heavyweights were believed to be on the fence about the UK’s direction when the then prime minister David Cameron called a referendum in 2016.
But they came out for Leave with an explosive article in Rupert Murdoch’s red top, promising a land of milk and honey to its readers, who seemingly took their word as gospel.
The article opined: “Leaving is good news for the next generation”, despite freedom of movement getting cut off and access to schemes such as the Erasmus programme being completely restricted.
The pair also promised a “stronger NHS” (it is currently weaker than ever) and “lower taxes”, which are at their highest since records began 70 years ago – and are unlikely to come down!
Here’s the article in full, published in May 2016:
On 23 June, Sun readers can decide whether we stay in the EU or take back control.
We believe working people will be better off if we leave the EU. The NHS will be stronger, class sizes smaller and taxes lower. We’ll have more money to spend on our priorities, wages will be higher and fuel bills will be lower. Leaving the EU is a great opportunity for us to take back control of our borders, our economy and our democracy.
Leaving is good news for the next generation. Our children will find it easier to get a good school place, healthcare and a home. Because if we vote to stay, we will never be able to control the number of people coming here and putting more pressure on our public services. As long as we are in the EU we are not allowed to impose any limits on the number of people who come here from the 27 other EU countries.
Last year 270,000 people came here from other EU countries. And the problem will get worse. The euro is broken. It’s destroying the economies of southern Europe. Young people there are leaving in huge numbers and coming to Britain. As the euro crisis deepens, this problem will only get worse.
What will happen to A&E units and GP waiting lists? How much worse will the housing shortage be? How many children will miss their first choice of school? That is an economic price we cannot afford to pay.
On top of that, we will all be paying the bills for the euro’s failure. We’ve already had to pay to bail out Greece. As the euro crisis continues, the EU will take more of our money to send to Greece and other countries whose economies are failing and who owe billions to the bankers. Sun readers will be taxed more to pay off these debts and what makes this so unfair is that a huge slice of this cash will go to the bankers who are funding the IN campaign.
We already hand over £350 million to the EU every week. And while we get some of it back, the EU decides how much. We should control all of this money so we can spend it on our priorities like cutting NHS waiting lists.
There’s another big problem for our economy if we stay in. The European Court has recently sided with multinational businesses who want to avoid paying taxes in this country.
The unelected and unaccountable Court has ordered us to pay millions in tax refunds to these multinationals – money that comes straight from working people’s pockets. If we Vote Leave we can take back control of that cash and invest it in supporting the poorest in our society.
There are two other big economic arguments for leaving.
Wages will be higher for working people outside the EU. Even the boss of the IN campaign admits wages ‘will go up’ if we vote leave because pay will no longer be undercut by uncontrolled migration.
And fuel bills will be lower for everyone.
In 1993, VAT on household energy bills was imposed. This makes gas and electricity much more expensive. EU rules mean we cannot take VAT off those bills.
The least wealthy are hit particularly hard. The poorest households spend three times more of their income on household energy bills than the richest households spend. As long as we are in the EU, we are not allowed to cut this tax.
When we Vote Leave, we will be able to scrap this unfair and damaging tax. It isn’t right that unelected bureaucrats in Brussels impose taxes on the poorest and elected British politicians can do nothing.
The safer choice on 23 June is to vote leave and take back control over our own affairs. We will take back control of immigration policy, taxes, our money, and our economy. You – Sun readers – will be able to vote for the people who make these crucial rules instead of watching politicians promise things they cannot deliver.
Not only will this be better for democracy, you will have more cash in your pocket too. Working families will gain.
The current system works for huge multinationals who spend millions lobbying in Brussels to rig the rules against entrepreneurs and to keep wages down. It doesn’t work for families on PAYE.
Don’t listen to those who say Britain is too weak to take back control – those who say we’ve got no choice but to give away democratic control. They were wrong when they told us to scrap the pound. They are wrong now.
The referendum on 23 June is our last chance to take back control. If we don’t seize it, imagine where Britain will be after another twenty years of immigration out of control and more power and money taken away from us.
Britain’s a great country. Vote leave, let’s take back control.