Jim Allister's blind spot

Jim Allister, TUV MEP, is reported as arguing for the UK to withdraw from the EU because it is a net contributor to the EU budget.

"How much longer are we going to go on pouring millions into the black hole that is Brussels, before it is realised that we'd be better off out?", he asked.

Poor Jim appears not to realise that in a Union there are contributors and beneficiaries – that is the nature of such an organisation. It is the same in families, where parents work and children consume, or in countries where one region is rich and another poor.

If Allister's position is that a country should only stay in a union if it is a recipient, then his mathematics is very shoddy, and his solidarity non-existent. The logic of his position is that he should be calling for Britain to withdraw from Northern Ireland, as it is currently 'pouring billions into the black hole that is Northern Ireland', and would certainly be better off out.

He would argue that Northern Ireland is part of the UK. But then, isn't the UK part of the EU?