or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
More Buying Choices
41 used & new from £2.00
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
The Great European Rip-off: How the Corrupt, Wasteful EU is Taking Control of Our Lives
 
See larger image 
Share your own customer images
Publisher: learn how customers can search inside this book.

The Great European Rip-off: How the Corrupt, Wasteful EU is Taking Control of Our Lives (Paperback)

by David Craig (Author), Matthew Elliott (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
RRP: £8.99
Price: £6.96 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save: £2.03 (23%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

Want guaranteed delivery by Tuesday, November 24? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details
31 new from £3.67 10 used from £2.00

Special Offers and Product Promotions

Frequently Bought Together

The Great European Rip-off: How the Corrupt, Wasteful EU is Taking Control of Our Lives + The Rotten State of Britain: Who Is Causing the Crisis and How to Solve It + The Plan: Twelve Months to Renew Britain
Price For All Three: £23.53

Show availability and delivery details

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Brussels Laid Bare

Brussels Laid Bare

by Marta Andreasen
4.6 out of 5 stars (10)  £6.53
The Rotten State of Britain: Who Is Causing the Crisis and How to Solve It

The Rotten State of Britain: Who Is Causing the Crisis and How to Solve It

by Eamonn Butler
4.2 out of 5 stars (31)  £8.36
Fleeced!: How we've been betrayed by the politicians, bureaucrats and bankers, and how much they've cost us

Fleeced!: How we've been betrayed by the politicians, bureaucrats and bankers, and how much they've cost us

by David Craig
4.0 out of 5 stars (5)  £5.42
The Assault on Liberty

The Assault on Liberty

by Dominic Raab
5.0 out of 5 stars (5)  £6.48
The Great Deception: Can the European Union Survive?

The Great Deception: Can the European Union Survive?

by Christopher Booker
4.6 out of 5 stars (13)  £10.76
› Explore similar items

Product details

  • Paperback: 336 pages
  • Publisher: Arrow Books Ltd (5 Mar 2009)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1847945708
  • ISBN-13: 978-1847945709
  • Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 13 x 2.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 11,118 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #3 in  Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Government & Politics > International Institutions > EU & European Institutions
    #12 in  Books > Business, Finance & Law > Economics > History
    #14 in  Books > Business, Finance & Law > Biographies & Histories > Business & Economic History

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Product Description

Product Description

In this EU election year, it's time for people across Europe to look at what really goes on in Brussels in our name.

The EU costs us around £1,000 billion a year - an incredible £2000 for every man, woman and child in Europe. So what do we get for our money? Politicians and administrators selflessly working to bring us efficient government? Well-targeted regulations that promote economic prosperity? A safe and free society? A well-protected environment? Help for people in poorer countries?

Or is our money being squandered by a self-serving euro-elite of unaccountable politicians and incompetent bureaucrats, or else devoured in a feeding frenzy of fraud and corruption where a few lucky insiders become unimaginably rich at our expense? And is the tsunami of regulation pouring out of Brussels in reality strangling industry, destroying jobs, restricting personal freedom, desecrating the environment and further impoverishing the developing world?

Using their extensive network of insider sources, David Craig and Matthew Elliott smash through the secrecy and disinformation that are the Brussels hallmark to reveal what our European rulers are really getting up to. The result is a horrifying story of bureaucracy, hypocrisy and kleptocracy and how we are all suffering as a result.


From the Back Cover

In this EU election year, it’s time for people across Europe to look at what really goes on in Brussels in our name.
It has been estimated that the EU costs us around £1,000 billion a year - an incredible £2000 for every man, woman and child in Europe. So what do we get for our money? Politicians and administrators selflessly working to bring us efficient government? Well-targeted regulations that promote economic prosperity? A safe and free society? A well-protected environment? Help for people in poorer countries?
Or is our money being squandered by a self-serving euro-elite of unaccountable politicians and incompetent bureaucrats, or else devoured in a feeding frenzy of fraud and corruption where a few lucky insiders become unimaginably rich at our expense? And is the tsunami of regulation pouring out of Brussels in reality strangling industry, destroying jobs, restricting personal freedom, desecrating the environment and further impoverishing the developing world?
Using their extensive network of insider sources, David Craig and Matthew Elliott smash through the secrecy and disinformation that are the Brussels hallmark to reveal what our European rulers are really getting up to. The result is a horrifying story of bureaucracy, hypocrisy and kleptocracy – and how we are all suffering as a result.
See all Product Description

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 
(2)
(2)
(2)
(1)
(1)
See all 7 tags...

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

The Great European Rip-off: How the Corrupt, Wasteful EU is Taking Control of Our Lives
79% buy the item featured on this page:
The Great European Rip-off: How the Corrupt, Wasteful EU is Taking Control of Our Lives 4.0 out of 5 stars (8)
£6.96
The Rotten State of Britain: Who Is Causing the Crisis and How to Solve It
7% buy
The Rotten State of Britain: Who Is Causing the Crisis and How to Solve It 4.2 out of 5 stars (31)
£8.36
The Plan: Twelve Months to Renew Britain
5% buy
The Plan: Twelve Months to Renew Britain 4.5 out of 5 stars (17)
£8.21
Brussels Laid Bare
5% buy
Brussels Laid Bare 4.6 out of 5 stars (10)
£6.53
Explore similar items
 

Customer Reviews

8 Reviews
5 star:
 (6)
4 star:    (0)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:
 (2)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars This is a book to be read by every European, 22 Jul 2009
By B. J. A. Searle "Brysea" (Abergavenny, Monmouthshire) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Its time people woke up to the dangers of the EUSSR. People who have lived through the Russian soviet era say we are building another Soviet, just look on YouTube and you will find so. The corruption and waste in the EUSSR is criminal and should be stopped. While the MEP's feed at the trough of our tax money and say nothing,the unelected rulers gain more and more control over our life. Parliament has become nothing more than a town council with limited powers. A MUST READ.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
26 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant assault on the undemocratic EU, 31 Mar 2009
By William Podmore (London United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
This book is a scathing analysis of the EU's corruption and power-grabbing, led by Britain's ruling class. The authors, David Craig, a management consultant and author, and Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the Taxpayers' Alliance, show how the EU strangles industry, destroys jobs, cuts personal freedoms, wrecks the environment and impoverishes developing countries.

The EU Commissioners get £1.7 million for their five-year term. MEPs get vast salaries, expenses and pensions - £2.1 million for five years. Britain's MEPs are to get a 32% pay rise this June and a new tax rate of 13-17%, halving their taxes.

Under the Common Agricultural Policy, Scotland's biggest landowners get £230,000 a year each. 85% of the CAP's annual £62 billion budget goes to the richest 18% of farms. The CAP also subsidises EU exports to the third world, and puts duties on their imports to us. For every pound of EU aid, the CAP takes away two.

Last year, the European Court of Justice ruled that the EU's freedom of movement laws entitled foreign workers to get Irish benefits even after they had returned home. The Court's remit is to promote EU integration; the only way to change any of its decisions is for all 27 member state governments to agree to do so.

After the French and Danish Noes to the EU Constitution, the EU's leaders, Blair included, absurdly claimed "the results do not call into question citizens' attachment to the constitution of Europe." Brown is still trying to sneak through the Constitution without a referendum, in the Lisbon Treaty. As a senior British civil servant said in 1971, "Of course this is the end of British democracy as we have known it, but if it is properly handled the people won't know what's happened until the end of the century. With any luck, old boy, by then I'll be dead."

The authors say the EU needs reform. They write, "countries like Britain should be permitted to declare their utilities like energy and water as strategic national resources." Should be permitted? By the same EU that wants to steal our resources?

After showing for nearly 300 pages how the EU seizes powers, they say it should shed those powers. After showing how it rides over democracy, they say it should promote democracy. They call on MEPs to vote themselves out of existence and on the Commission to stop issuing regulations. They say the EU should scrap the CAP, yet they have shown that the French would never vote for this.

They note that, "a useful question might be whether [the EU] can ever be reformed." Their book gives us the answer - No. The authors have proved that the EU is bad for Britain - so we need to demand a referendum on the Constitution, and we must leave this rubbish club.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
18 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Essential reading before June Euro elections, 1 April 2009
By K. T. O'Reilly (SE London) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This is the third book I've read by David Craig. The others were Plundering the Public Sector, which revealed how much private consultants have dipped into our taxes under Labour, and Squandered, which took a broader look at Gordon Brown's overtaxing and overspending. Both books are well worth reading, especially in light of the current controversies over public-sector trough-snouting and Brown's economic skills.

This one is more vital. It is the most readable (300 pages in good, plain English) yet comprehensive guide available to what the EU is doing with our money and, more importantly, doing to democracy in Europe.

The EU is not popular in Britain, something which is too often put down to media scaremongering. Our media certainly does scaremonger very well but sometimes when there is smoke, there is fire. This book coolly and often wittily sets out the truth behind the bureaucracy, the over-regulation, the power-grabbing, the troughing and the often mad policies (the Common Fisheries Policy is mind-boggling!) with references so you can do your own research if you feel sceptical. And the scary thing is the truth is a fair bit worse than what the Sun or the Daily Mail print. In fact you may wonder why these papers waste print with stories about straight bananas while ignoring much more serious scandals like the Common Agricultural Policy and the Biofuels debacle.

In June we vote for our MEPs - their toothlessness is another topic covered - and in this election we get our only real say in how Europe is run. You will have the choice between supine Europhiles or people prepared to stand up and try and change things (like current YouTube celebrity Daniel Hannan). Read this and learn what is at stake before you vote.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Almost completely baseless...
I bought this in an attempt to understand both sides of the argument. Unfortunately it becomes somewhat apparent from reading just the first few pages that this account is not... Read more
Published 1 month ago by M. Odell

1.0 out of 5 stars Seperated from fact and reality
I bought this wanting to read a euro-skeptic view of the European Union. However i did at least expect it to have a basis in fact. Read more
Published 3 months ago by J. Nichols

5.0 out of 5 stars A depressing look at those unfit to govern us.
A depressing but very necessary read. It's easy to ignore what the EU is up to, but this shows why we should pay more attention and seek and get more control of those who control... Read more
Published 5 months ago by cw

5.0 out of 5 stars All the evidence you need for leaving the EU
There has been a furore over MPs' expenses over the last few weeks. What they are getting is absolute peanuts to the astounding amounts that MEPs and their tens of thousands of... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Neil

5.0 out of 5 stars The Great European Rip-off
Not as detailed as Booker and North's The Great Deception but very readable. A book that all Eurosceptics would want to read and all taxpayers and supporters of democracy should... Read more
Published 7 months ago by K. Whittaker

Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
Referendum Now! 0 2 months ago
› See all discussions...  
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Look for similar items by subject


















i.e., each product must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback

Ad

Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.