Iain Duncan Smith: A Remain Vote is a Grave Threat to the City

Iain Duncan Smith

From The Times:

If the Remain camp were to be believed, the debate over the economy for the referendum campaign is case closed, nothing further to discuss. But producing a series of dubious forecasts larded with negative rhetoric and then simply asserting they have won the argument does not amount to a convincing case.

The Europhiles’ position is partly arrogance and partly an attempt to draw a veil over the gaping holes in their arguments. None of those defending the Remain position has made any serious attempt to present a balanced analysis of the pluses and minuses of leaving the EU.

They have failed to give any weight to the risk to Britain of being tied to the highly unstable eurozone or to the economic threat posed by Brussels.

Research released today details the scale of the risk to our financial services industry, which employs more than two million people throughout the UK and funds 12 per cent of spending on public services.

The Remain camp has likewise paid no attention to the economic upsides of leaving the EU. On our side, we have a clear independence plan for the British economy. Properly implemented, it will increase trade, prosperity and jobs.

First, leaving will enable us to conclude free trade deals with countries around the world that we are currently forbidden from negotiating with.

The Remain camp sometimes tells us Britain is too insignificant for anyone to want to reach trade agreements with us. That is an implausible claim for the world’s fifth-biggest economy. Nor will the EU want to damage itself by putting up barriers against Britain when its other members sell us nearly £70 billion more than they buy from us. The new immigration system Britain will introduce after leaving the EU will also bring clear economic benefits, replacing unmanageable chaos with migration meritocracy.

Read more at The Sunday Times

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