Sunday, November 01, 2015
Millions of jobs at risk if Britain leaves Europe
The Sunday Times reports that 13 former ambassadors have warned that billions of pounds in trade deals and millions of jobs are at risk if Britain leaves the EU.
The paper says that in a letter to The Sunday Times, the ambassadors claim that those who want to leave have “no credibility” and are “naive” if they think Britain will be able to quickly strike a better free trade deal with the EU or new ones with countries such as America and China. “Neither argument holds water,” they say:
The letter was arranged by Lord Hannay of Chiswick, Britain’s former ambassador to the UN, and Lord Kerr of Kinlochard, the UK’s former ambassador to America and the EU.
It is also signed by Sir Nigel Sheinwald, Sir Stephen Wall and Sir John Grant, all of whom served as Britain’s representative in Brussels, the former cabinet secretary Lord Butler, Sir Emyr Jones Parry, a former UN ambassador, and Lord Jay, a former ambassador to France. The letter says: “We would need to negotiate up to 50 new separate agreements to replace those we now have through the EU. As a nation of 65m people and 2% of world GDP, rather than a bloc of 500m and 16%, our leverage would be much reduced.
“It would be a long, complicated, uncertain process. To suggest otherwise is naive at best and insincere at worst.
Whatever the motivation of the 13 Ambassadors it is clear from the scenario they outline that leaving the EU is far from a simple process and that claims by anti-EU campaigners that it will benefit the UK are nonsense.
In fact it will bring us years of uncertainty, and almost certainly lead to job losses and have a disastrous impact on trade relations with other countries.
The paper says that in a letter to The Sunday Times, the ambassadors claim that those who want to leave have “no credibility” and are “naive” if they think Britain will be able to quickly strike a better free trade deal with the EU or new ones with countries such as America and China. “Neither argument holds water,” they say:
The letter was arranged by Lord Hannay of Chiswick, Britain’s former ambassador to the UN, and Lord Kerr of Kinlochard, the UK’s former ambassador to America and the EU.
It is also signed by Sir Nigel Sheinwald, Sir Stephen Wall and Sir John Grant, all of whom served as Britain’s representative in Brussels, the former cabinet secretary Lord Butler, Sir Emyr Jones Parry, a former UN ambassador, and Lord Jay, a former ambassador to France. The letter says: “We would need to negotiate up to 50 new separate agreements to replace those we now have through the EU. As a nation of 65m people and 2% of world GDP, rather than a bloc of 500m and 16%, our leverage would be much reduced.
“It would be a long, complicated, uncertain process. To suggest otherwise is naive at best and insincere at worst.
Whatever the motivation of the 13 Ambassadors it is clear from the scenario they outline that leaving the EU is far from a simple process and that claims by anti-EU campaigners that it will benefit the UK are nonsense.
In fact it will bring us years of uncertainty, and almost certainly lead to job losses and have a disastrous impact on trade relations with other countries.
