When the rebate was agreed over twenty years ago, Britain was poor after decades of decline. In fact it was the third poorest state in the then European Economic Community (after Ireland and Greece) [1] , so the size of its net contribution to the budget was clearly unfair. Now the UK is one of the EU member countries and the rebate is no longer justifiable in the way it was originally justified. The sums involved are small compared to the overall UK budget - much less than the margin of error in the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s tax and spending plans, in 2003 for example Gordon Brown had to borrow £10 billion more than expected. [2] It is partly (perhaps largely) because of Margaret Thatcher’s achievements in power that the UK is so strong economically, so agreeing that the rebate is no longer necessary is a tribute to her legacy, not a betrayal.  [1] OECD, ‘1984, Gross domestic product: Per head, US $, constant prices, constant PPPs, OECD base year’, 2011  [2] Schifferes, Steve, ‘Chancellor to squeeze wages’, 2003