On June 23rd Britain will have a referendum on our membership of the EU. For those of us old enough to remember the vote in 1975 on our European Communities Membership, the past few weeks of political coverage on the news has been a bit like stepping back in time.
Then, as now, the economic arguments were at the forefront of the campaign. We voted to join a Common Market that has undoubtedly helped to bring prosperity to this country. If we cast our minds back to the British economy pre-1975, we can easily remember inefficient industries and our economy lying in the shadow of many of our European neighbours.
Being able to trade openly with the European Market has brought many jobs to these shores; some estimate that as many as 3 million jobs in Britain are linked to our trade with other EU countries. Industries that once struggled, for example the car industry, now thrive with our EU membership; with over 700,000 employees.
The City of London prospers because of its role as the pre-eminent provider of financial services in the EU. Similarly, almost all of our leading export industries can point to membership of the single-market as a major part of their success. It is a brave man who can claim that, with Brexit, our economy won’t suffer in any way.
Over the past 41 years we’ve gone from being an inefficient economy that relied on state interference, subsidies and the cooperation of the Unions to being an open, free-trading and dynamic economy that is admired the world over. Whilst some of the credit must of course go to Mrs Thatcher’s leadership, it is almost impossible to argue that our economy hasn’t benefited from EU membership.
Those of us who want to see our economic links strengthened throughout the globe with emerging markets like China, India and Africa also know that remaining in the EU is the best course of action. Being part of the world’s largest single market makes us a more attractive prospect to these markets and puts us in a much stronger position to negotiate free trade agreements.
If we vote ‘leave’ on June 23rd then we’ll be in a position where we have no guarantee of accessing the single market, and no guarantee of being able to negotiate with emerging markets. We’ll be in a weaker negotiating position; and as President Obama put it, ‘at the back of the queue’. Voting leave is the worst of all worlds.
I have never considered our membership of the European Union to be perfect; it remains too bureaucratic and centralising for my tastes. But the best way to fix this is not for us to leave; it’s for us to change the EU from the inside. As David Cameron’s renegotiations have shown, there is an appetite amongst European leaders to deliver a more competitive and dynamic Europe.
But fundamentally I believe Britain’s approach to the world has always been outward-looking. Whether it is our culture, our businesses or our political approach, we look to lead the world, not shy away from it. If we vote to remain on June 23rd, we’ll be following in the footsteps of centuries of tradition to keep looking beyond our shores.
I don’t want Britain’s economy to return to where we were pre-1975, and I don’t want our influence in the world to be diminished. World leaders - including Narendra Modi - are in favour of Britain staying in, as are major business organisations, including the Indian Chamber of Commerce. That is why David Cameron deserves our support in this referendum, and why I’ll be voting to remain on June 23rd.
