mr president it is my privilege to represent the handsome villages the rolling downs and the bluebell groves of the english home counties
like every other mep for south-east england i have received dozens of heartbreaking complaints from constituents who have suffered from the arbitrary confiscation of legally purchased alcohol and tobacco at the channel ports
labour's repeated hikes in the excise duty have served to drive income that ought to be coming to retailers in my constituency across the channel
in time jobs have also been pushed from the english home counties across the water
revenue that ought to be coming to the british exchequer is instead going to continental treasuries
the government's response has then been to spend this dwindling income stream on hiring more and more excise officers in a futile attempt to police a system wherein most of our alcohol and tobacco had now become smuggled
that is the system which to their shame labour meps have just voted to go back to
i think it is a disgrace
