I recently had an exchange on The Spectator website with someone violently opposed to the EU who went by the handle "Elibar". He accused me of being a supporter of globalisation which he said would grind the poor into the dust. Against the EU he claimed, "...the citizens of Europe [..] have been paying into a system which now shows them no mercy in treating them like second class citizens to further the cause of globalism". I explained we remainers were usually accused of being protectionists and one reason I voted to remain was to protect the lower paid.
The reason I mention this is because I know people like Daniel Hannan have written frequently that the EU does not help the consumer by keeping prices artificially high to protect agricultural workers, for example. I noted a conservative MP, Ann Marie Morris, writing a piece for Brexit Central (I get emails from them to see what they're up to) says this:
So in a sense, while we have free trade of a sort between EU member states, the deal is protectionist in global terms, preferring EU members to non-EU nations.
So, Elibar voted to leave the EU because of globalism but doesn't seem to realise that outside the EU the poorest will have little or no protection from those who want to trade with India (average per capita income about $1500 a year). He/she should actually be a remainer but voted to leave. Amazing. At least it is to me.
