nucleus

Cameron warned over EU scepticism

Posted by nucleus on 26/06/12

By David Seymour

One of the UK’s leading bankers issues warning over EU exit

What makes arguing the case for Europe so difficult is that the perceived wisdom successfully pumped out by those opposed to the EU is that the British people don’t like it. To that can be added the most recent spin that the City is particularly set against it.

None of that is true and the lie has been given to the claim that bankers are opposed to the European Union by the revelation in the Daily Telegraph today that Peter Sands, the chief executive of Standard Chartered, is worried about Britain pulling out.

At a breakfast meeting in Downing Street, he is said to have raised his concerns with the Prime Minister. His warning could not have come at a more critical time.

All the main political parties are said to be toying with the idea of including the promise to hold an in-out referendum in their next manifestos. This is playing with fire.

While some politicians and journalists are convinced that nothing would be lost by the UK walking away from Europe – on the contrary, they believe we would benefit – many of those who have to deal with the practicalities of life in the City, as well as business, not to mention foreign affairs, defence and diplomacy, understand what a catastrophe it would be for the future of this country.

Yet it requires courage to stick your head above the parapet. The snipers in certain sections of the press are always waiting to take a pot shot at anyone who dares to speak up for the benefits of being in the EU.

So Peter Sands is not only a highly respected banker – which makes him comparatively rare at the moment – but is a man of courage and principle.

It hasn’t helped those who are concerned at the consequences of a referendum being fought here on unequal terms that Germany’s finance minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble, said yesterday that closer European integration would require a referendum in his country.

As the Daily Mail points out with undisguised glee, that would put renewed pressure on David Cameron.

Presumably during a German referendum campaign it would be explained to voters how well they have done from the EU. In the UK, we benefit by about £3,000 a family every year. Would that be explained if we had a referendum? Don’t expect to see it in the Express, Mail or Sun, or even the Telegraph.

Peter Sands has shown Mr Cameron that there are important voices which need to be listened to and which don’t come from the Conservative backbenches. And they come from people who contribute enormously to this country’s economy.

It would be disastrous for a decision on a referendum to be taken on purely expedient electoral grounds. That, presumably, is what the Prime Minister was told over the sausage and eggs on Monday. Hopefully he was listening.

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2 Responses to Cameron warned over EU scepticism »»

Sue

Comment by Sue | 2012/06/27 at 13:07:07

And you trust a banker no wonder Europhiles have made such a mess of the Euro.

“In the UK, we benefit by about £3,000 a family every year”

The bailout has cost £2,500 for every family in the country FOR A CURRENCY WE REFUSED TO JOIN. That’s without the annual membership, additional red tape, inane environmental costs, open border labour costs, unpaid migrant bills for the NHS, unpaid EU student University fees, extra housing, schools and additional infrastructure and social benefits like housing allowances.

Our membership doubled last year and for what? Nothing that we gained from it.

A referendum on the EU is the democratic right of all Britons and should have been held before the Lisbon Treaty was signed.
nucleus

Comment by nucleus | 2012/06/28 at 13:00:34

Unsure where you get your numbers from Sue!

Our membership did not double last year, not by any twisting of figures or statistics. Not even close.

The UK also has not joined the eurozone bailout. You may mistakenly be referring to the support the UK gave to Ireland? This was to support banks, not the euro, and really is protecting our own interests rather than out of ‘charity’.

To address your other concerns – our annual membership is minimal, accounting for less that 1% of GDP. Many EU environmental rules are actually pushed by the UK, and certainly don’t add anything too onerous on top. Besides, even if they were to, tighter environmental protection is no bad thing. The other items you list are due to the freedom of movement for EU citizens, which works both ways. Indeed, the UK has similar figures of immigration and migration each year, showing that UK citizens are just as keen to take the opportunity as those from other EU member states.

As to your question, what did we gain? We could write dozens of essays on that, but how about access to the world’s largest market, trade deals with India and South Korea, equal influence with the USA at the WTO and IMF, and billions of pounds of international business commitments for starters?