Beware the headline costs of Brexit: We’ll thrive if we’re open to the world March 23, 2015 You have to be careful with headlines. They are so often highly selective about the message they want to convey. Take an example from yesterday: The Guardian’s story on a report analysing the costs or benefits to the economy of the UK leaving the EU was headlined “Thinktank tells Ukip departing from EU would cost [...]
Brexit could cost UK 2.2 per cent of GDP without radical free market reform and liberal immigration policy March 23, 2015 Britain's economy could take a hit of up to 2.2 per cent of GDP – or £56bn – by 2030 if it leaves the EU, according to a new report from think tank Open Europe. The report argues that in the worst case scenario, the negative effects of Brexit would not wholly be offset by [...]
Dominic Grieve: Brexit would turn 2m Brits into illegal immigrants March 19, 2015 The former attorney general has launched a scathing attack on those who want Britain out of the EU. Dominic Grieve warned that with the international situation so precarious there were significant dangers to leaving a supranational organisation such as the EU. He added that the free movement of people within was clearly non-negotiable. "The requirements [...]
Brexit will damage the UK economy, say 54pc of small businesses March 18, 2015 The majority of Britain's small businesses think Brexit would damage the UK economy. The Zurich SME Risk Index showed on Wednesday that 54 per cent of small businesses believes British withdrawal from the EU would be bad for the country compared with 33 per cent who want to see Britain leave Europe. The polls continue [...]
Jean-Claude Juncker rules out major EU reform to prevent Brexit March 17, 2015 EU Commission President Jean-Claude Junker hopes to keep what he calls "down to earth Britain" in the EU but has dashed any hopes of major treaty change. Juncker ruled out a major reform of the European treaties to satisfy British demands for reform. Speaking at a conference he insisted he was "in favour of a [...]
Open Europe reveals 100 EU regulations that cost Britain £33bn March 16, 2015 The EU's 100 most draconian regulations are costing Britain over £33bn a year, according new analysis from the think-tank Open Europe. Adding insult to injury, the report reveals the accompanying impact assessment found the costs of a quarter of these regulations outweighed the estimated benefits, but were signed off by the British government all the [...]
General Election 2015: Farage opens the way for a deal with the Tories if Cameron agrees to an EU referendum in 2015 March 15, 2015 Ukip could offer to support a minority Conservative government on key policies like the budget – if David Cameron’s party agrees to stage a referendum on the UK’s EU membership by the end of 2015. The Telegraph is publishing extracts from Nigel Farage’s memoirs – entitled Purple Revolution – in which the Ukip leader rules [...]
Isolated like North Korea? No. The UK has plenty of allies and will achieve success after Brexit March 11, 2015 The claim made by former Prime Minister Gordon Brown that outside the EU the UK would be “the North Korea of Europe” is ignoring the facts – and Britain’s potential. Unlike North Korea, the UK has a large number of global alliances and partners. It had these before the creation of the EU and it [...]
Millions of UK jobs NOT at risk from Brexit: Free market think-tank busts pro-EU myth March 11, 2015 The oft-repeated claim that 3m British jobs depend on Britain's membership of the EU has been challenged in a new report by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA). The report's author, Ryan Bourne, calls on the public and commentators to challenge the assertion frequently made by pro-EU supporters. "It can be said with certainty that [...]
As Gordon Brown warns that a UK outside the EU would be Europe’s North Korea, is he right? March 10, 2015 Roland Rudd, the founding chairman of Business for New Europe, says Yes Brown is absolutely right to highlight the dangers of leaving the EU, and the potential impact on Britain’s standing in the world. We won’t be like North Korea, but we would certainly be more isolated in an increasingly uncertain world. As Brown says, [...]