A Tory Leave MP was left looking like a bit of a lemon after carrying out an ‘analysis’ of the fruit and vegetables in his local Tesco.
Daniel Kawczynski used the backdrop of a fruit and vegetable stand in a Tesco store in Shrewsbury to make his case that ‘massive tariffs imposed’ by the EU meant that we’re ‘paying more’ for our five a day.
A buoyant Kawczynski boldly claimed ‘no more after March 2019!’ – but we suspect he will be feeling less chipper when he reads the savage responses he received from social media users.
One user keen to point out the MP’s inaccuracies was Jim Cornelius, a Remainer from Lewes in East Sussex. In his ten responses he pointed out most of the fruit and vegetables the MP was pictured with did not come from the European Union – but from countries where free trade deals are already in place.
It would mean prices would not drop if the UK left the European Union.
To make matters worse another user reported the MP to Tesco’s customer services for acting suspiciously in their store.
The MP has yet to respond to Cornelius’ tweets.
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Now at Tescos in Shrewsbury. Please remember EU protectionist racket means inefficient EU growers preferred to other non EU Mediterranean growers,due to massive tariffs imposed by EU. This leads to you paying more for your products! No more after March 2019! #Brexit pic.twitter.com/XHBePeDJNy
— Daniel Kawczynski (@DKShrewsbury) September 22, 2018
HI Daniel. I zoomed in on your photo, and couldn't see clearly - but - at this time of year, almost certainly, those lemons are imported from South Africa. They come in on a 0% tariff under the entry price system.
— Jim Cornelius #WATON (@Jim_Cornelius) September 24, 2018
Here's some from Aldi. pic.twitter.com/cMsfAaaqYY
And here's some lemons and limes from Sainsbury's. Again the lemons are coming in on a 0% tariff because we have an FTA with South Africa. The limes are from Mexico. They also come in on a 0% tariff, because we have an FTA with Mexico. pic.twitter.com/kQ8iEIdEc2
— Jim Cornelius #WATON (@Jim_Cornelius) September 24, 2018
These Sainsbury oranges, also from South Africa, also on a 0% tariff because of the FTA with South Africa and the other SADC countries (o Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, and Swaziland[Eswatini]). pic.twitter.com/waf2DfRs0n
— Jim Cornelius #WATON (@Jim_Cornelius) September 24, 2018
Some of the other oranges there, in Sainsbury's, are from Egypt. We have an FTA with Egypt, so guess what? These oranges come in on a 0% tariff. pic.twitter.com/9pikTfatTV
— Jim Cornelius #WATON (@Jim_Cornelius) September 24, 2018
See these kiwi fruit? They come from Chile and these also come in on a 0% tariff. You know why? Yep, you guessed it. we have an FTA with Chile. pic.twitter.com/PSffXJ1AE4
— Jim Cornelius #WATON (@Jim_Cornelius) September 24, 2018
These blueberries here. They're from Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe is part of the ESA group of African countries. So under the ESA FTA they enter the UK on a 0% tariff too.
— Jim Cornelius #WATON (@Jim_Cornelius) September 24, 2018
Curiously there's no specific tariff entry for blueberries it is under "Fruit of the genus Vaccinium - Other". pic.twitter.com/AxQ9rHAQ27
See these pineapples? They're from Costa Rica. We have an FTA with Costa Rica. So they come in on a 0% tariff. pic.twitter.com/BM2V9yvurr
— Jim Cornelius #WATON (@Jim_Cornelius) September 24, 2018
By the way, in case you think I'm making this us - Here's the tariff schedule for pineapples from Costa Rica. https://t.co/gclTzQNcle pic.twitter.com/44eFOLe6xj
— Jim Cornelius #WATON (@Jim_Cornelius) September 24, 2018
See these mangoes? They're from Peru. There's no tariff on mangoes, so it's imported on 0%, but if there was a tariff it wouldn't apply to these mangoes because we have an FTA with Peru. pic.twitter.com/JessGJnVtM
— Jim Cornelius #WATON (@Jim_Cornelius) September 24, 2018
https://twitter.com/hrtbps/status/1044521296292450304
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