A few weeks ago I listened to a programme on Radio 4 called ‘The Bottom Line’.

It was about the EU and whether we should leave or stay.

Amongst the participants were two business people – one anti and one pro.

Julia Gash, who’s the CEO of company called  Bidbi, and is pro staying in said that doing business with other EU countries was simplicity itself.  It was just as easy to send goods to Manchester as I was to send them to Milan. No customs duty to pay and no complications around VAT.

The managing director of company called David Nieper was vehemently anti. He said that some of the regulations the EU were proposing about data and how it could be used were quite sinister in their composition. I suppose he didn’t like the regulations because they limit the way in which companies can use customer data.  As a consumer I find that a very good thing indeed.

He also railed against the fact that the EU had stipulated that office chairs had to have five legs. (I think he actually meant to say that swivel chairs should have five feet.) There’s a very good reason for that. Swivel chairs with only four feet have an alarming tendency to tip over when you’re sitting in them. So I’m all for swivel chairs with five feet. This was cited as an example of the EU putting up costs for businesses.