The price of Easter eggs has become an unlikely flashpoint in the debate over Britain’s membership of the EU, following claims from the pro-Brexit camp that next Easter would “taste sweeter” outside the union.
Robert Oxley, the spokesman for Vote Leave, said sovereignty over the price of the festive egg could be reclaimed if Britain votes to leave the 28 member-bloc. The EU, he added, is “actually making Easter more egg-spensive”.
Unilateral trade deals with chocolate-producing countries Indonesia, Nigeria and Brazil could remove “punitive tariffs” imposed by Brussels on imports of cocoa-based sweet treats, Vote Leave claim.
The pro-Brexit camp adds that as much as £1.28 of the cost of a £10 egg was accounted for by such charges, which are levied on chocolate products but not raw cocoa beans.
“Words fail me,” one Eurosceptic Conservative MP said to The Independent.
Mr Oxley added: “Pro-EU campaigners are constantly rabbiting on about the supposed benefits provided by the EU…But consumers will be hopping mad to find out that the EU is actually making Easter more egg-spensive.
"As well as putting up the price of food in supermarkets, the EU's protectionist policies hurt businesses in developing countries who are effectively shut out of our markets.
"If we Vote Leave on 23 June, Easter will taste all the more sweeter next year."
James McGrory, the spokesman for Britain Stronger in Europe campaign, soberly refuted the claims. He said: "Voters across the country won't be fooled - they can tuck in to their Easter eggs today safe in the knowledge we are stronger, safer and better off in Europe rather than taking a leap in to the dark.
"Our membership of the EU allows us to trade freely with a market of 500 million consumers. And the fact we are part of the world's largest single market means we can strike trade deals with economies across the world.
"The reality is that Vote Leave just don't know what kind of trading deals we would be able to secure as a single country.”
Additional reporting by PA
