Sir, I read the letter to this paper last Friday from the Economists for Brexit with interest. They are calling for the UK to leave the EU’s free trade single market, the world’s largest economic zone of 500m consumers, and adopt a “WTO option” which involves getting “rid of all the EU’s tariffs and trade barriers unilaterally”.
Leaving aside the fact that Patrick Minford has previously admitted this “would mostly eliminate manufacturing” in our country (that’s 2.6m people’s jobs and livelihoods being casually swept away), this alternative to our membership of the EU’s single market has three key flaws.
First, it means not just giving up our privileged access to the EU’s single market to which we send 44 per cent of our exports, but having no trade deal at all with the EU. That would inevitably mean higher prices, less investment and lower employment.
Second, this idea logically means having no trade deals with any third country. Vote Leave says it wants to withdraw from the EU to sign “our own trade deals”. But that would be impossible under this option.
Finally, the independent Institute for Fiscal Studies and academic experts at the London School of Economics have questioned the assumptions behind Patrick Minford’s modelling. The latter say that Economists for Brexit’s option actually “leads to a decline in UK living standards”.
In short, this alternative to our EU membership would mean a less secure future for our country, for our economy and for families. It is not a risk worth taking.
Full letter on Financial Times (subscription required)
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