Analysis claims UK economy would suffer if it leaves EU

Global Business

With a month to go before Britain votes on leaving the European Union, another report warns of a possibly profound economic shock.

The U.K. Treasury has warned the British economy could dive into a year-long recession should Britain leave the EU. CCTV’s Richard Bestic reports.

The last frenetic weeks of campaigning before Britain votes, ammunition for those wanting to remain in the EU.

The U.K. Treasury with analysis claiming in two years if the U.K. quit, the economy could slide fall by more than 3.5 percent.

U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron with the Finance Minister at his side, describing so called Brexit as the ‘self-destruct option.’

“The shock to our economy after leaving Europe would tip the country into recession. This could be for the first time in history a recession bought on us it is the self-destruct option,” David Cameron, U.K. Prime Minister said.

The British Treasury warning reflects views from The World Bank’s Christine Lagarde, in Japan for a G-7 summit this week, from the Organization for Economic Development and the International Monetary Fund.

The mood for remaining in the EU trading though does appear to be turning with bookmakers and opinion polls favoring victory for a vote to remain.

Although the opinion polls have finally moved out of the margin for error, it is though all so close for a decision that has consequences both the U.K. and EU itself.

1

 


UK involvement in European bloc dates back 40 years

The marriage between the United Kingdom and the European Union dates back more than 40 years.

From its first days, the relationship has been turbulent at times. CCTV America’s Asieh Namdar reports.

Follow Asieh Namdar on Twitter@asiehnamdar

In 1973, Britain joined what was known as the European Economic Community. But almost immediately, there were rumblings to leave.

A year later, British Prime Minister Harold Wilson pledged to allow the British people to decide whether to stay or go.

That referendum was held in 1975. In the end, just over 67 percent of voters decided to stay in the so-called “Common Market.” But that vote, was not the end to the debate.

More than a decade later, in 1988, Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher railed against what was now called the European Community.

In 1992 “Black Wednesday,” international currency speculators were slamming the British pound. The country’s Conservative government decided to withdraw it from Europe’s monetary system.

That gave rise to a single currency across the European Union-the euro. The euro was introduced in 2002 to much fanfare.

But, the U.K.’s Labour leader Tony Blair embraced the EU-rejecting Thatcher’s comments from more than a decade earlier. At the same time, the United Kingdom Independence Party or UKIP was rising, led by Nigel Farage.

In 2013, Prime Minister David Cameron promised a new referendum. February 2016, Cameron felt he had secured enough EU reforms to keep Britain in. He announced the referendum. And less than a month from now, Britain will vote.


Kallum Pickering on referendum on EU membership set for June 23

So if Prime Minister Cameron is right that staying in the European Union is so important, then why propose the referendum in the first place?

CCTV America’s Asieh Namdar posed that question to Kallum Pickering, a senior U.K. Economist at Berenberg.
Follow Asieh Namdar on Twitter@asiehnamdar

This chart shows the projected percentage difference in UK GDP in the case of Brexit compared to a ‘remain’ scenario. You can find more statistics at Statista