Why the Leave camps cannot allow the lies on Norway to pass
There has been much chatter about the Norway Option, initially prompted by a coordinated attack on it from BSE (poster above), involving David Cameron himself and the usual suspects from the minority pro-EU lobby in Norway.
As usual the same lies are trotted out as though they are facts. Those lies are:
- That Norway adopts 75% of EU laws
- That Norway has no influence over those EU laws
- That Norway pays almost as much into EU coffers as Britain yet suffers the two drawbacks above.
The point about “75% of EU laws” has been completely discredited on more than one occasion, here (10%) and more recently as a result of a formal question in Iceland’s parliament confirming a similar low percentage (10%). There has also been a comprehensive analysis and explanation here, concluding with a more conservative figure of 21%. And of course a significant part of that much smaller percentage covers single market standards/regulations originating from global bodies where Norway exerts its influence, sometimes very visibly.
Which brings us neatly to the “No influence” point — a lie that’s been around the world so many times it’s accepted by many as fact. But it doesn’t come close to being true and has been discredited many times, including here, here, here, here, and here. And now this (via the BBC) here.
As for the cost argument, that too is not just wrong but wholly wrong. The real facts are explained here and here, with supporting data from an official Norway-EU site here.
The pro-EU camp is therefore wildly wrong on everything to do with the Norway Option.
However the response to these lies from the two Leave camps has been poor.
‘Vote Leave’ have stated:
“David Cameron wants Vote Leave to commit to the ‘Norway option’. We have not and will not. After we Vote Leave, Britain will negotiate our own agreement — we will not just take one off the shelf.”
Leave.EU are similar, rejecting the Norway Option and stating that Britain can get something better.
But they all miss an important point.
OK, so they don’t like the Norway Option. But BSE and Cameron and a host of other EUphiles are plainly lying about it. They must be called out, because a campaign that’s shown to be lying on such an industrial scale is a discredited campaign. And if BSE are not called out and discredited now, they’ll lie, lie and lie again about any other options too.
The beauty of it is that while attacking BSE’s lies on the Norway Option, Leavers can still add “but the UK can do better than Norway” if they feel this assuages their conscience and prevents them being ‘labelled’.
One of the few people in the main Leave camps to recognise this point is Daniel Hannan who, while always calling for something better than the Norway Option, also identifies the lies being told about it.
But until both those camps really grasp the Norway Option — if not as a preferred option but as an example of astonishing EUphile lies — the Remain campaign and Cameron will take heart and carry on.
You know what to do
Further Reading
A succinct rebuttal of all Norway Option lies is here — http://votetoleave.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/putting-europhiles-in-their-place-by.html
Lots of useful links on the Norway Option are here: https://medium.com/@WhiteWednesday/the-norway-option-some-bookmarks-e51e7621beb2#.nbr8sgdvr
