As we enter the final stage of the referendum campaign, it becomes increasingly important for voters to reach judgments on the basis of a balanced and rounded debate about Britain’s prospects.
That means taking account of the opportunities that await Britain outside the European Union and the substantial risks of remaining.
There has been startling dishonesty in the economic debate, with a woeful failure on the part of the Bank of England, the Treasury, and other official sources to present a fair and balanced analysis.
They have been peddling phoney forecasts and scare stories to back up the attempts of David Cameron and George Osborne to frighten the electorate into voting Remain.
To give but one example, yesterday saw the threat of an emergency budget - which was nothing more than ludicrous scaremongering born of desperation. No responsible Chancellor would seriously propose any such thing.
So we are coming together - two former chancellors, and two former Conservative party leaders - to look at the facts, and show that the claims of the Remain side are wholly without foundation.
But we handed Brussels our power to negotiate trade deals. Since the 1970s, the EU has reached 37 agreements with 54 countries. The largest economies among them are South Korea and Mexico.
By contrast, Australia, an economy half our size, has agreements in place with China, the United States, Japan and a host of smaller countries. It is on the brink of signing with India.
If we leave, we would regain the freedom to forge deals while continuing to trade freely with the EU.
The Remain campaign would have us believe the EU would impose tariff barriers in retribution, but the truth is we import nearly £70bn more from the continent than we sell there, so it would be an absurd act of economic self-harm for the EU to start a trade war with Britain.
The clearest risk is the prospect of remaining in the EU, locked to a doomed Eurozone. That is not a fanciful forecast, but an assessment of what is already happening, as well as the Union’s published plans for its future.
Britain has had a stormy relationship with Europe dating back more than half a century.
That means taking account of the opportunities that await Britain outside the European Union and the substantial risks of remaining.
There has been startling dishonesty in the economic debate, with a woeful failure on the part of the Bank of England, the Treasury, and other official sources to present a fair and balanced analysis.
They have been peddling phoney forecasts and scare stories to back up the attempts of David Cameron and George Osborne to frighten the electorate into voting Remain.
To give but one example, yesterday saw the threat of an emergency budget - which was nothing more than ludicrous scaremongering born of desperation. No responsible Chancellor would seriously propose any such thing.
So we are coming together - two former chancellors, and two former Conservative party leaders - to look at the facts, and show that the claims of the Remain side are wholly without foundation.
Britain is the world’s fifth largest economy and its foremost financial centre with an unrivalled concentration of markets and expertise. We are a global country, which in the 19th century invented the modern idea of free trade, recognising its unrivalled power to lift people out of poverty around the world.
Britain already conducts more trade outside the EU than any other member state, and the EU takes an ever-shrinking share of our exports, down from about 55% in 2002 to less than 45% last year. This trend is set to continue, underlining that our greatest opportunity for future prosperity lies in the global economy.
Britain already conducts more trade outside the EU than any other member state, and the EU takes an ever-shrinking share of our exports, down from about 55% in 2002 to less than 45% last year. This trend is set to continue, underlining that our greatest opportunity for future prosperity lies in the global economy.
But we handed Brussels our power to negotiate trade deals. Since the 1970s, the EU has reached 37 agreements with 54 countries. The largest economies among them are South Korea and Mexico.
By contrast, Australia, an economy half our size, has agreements in place with China, the United States, Japan and a host of smaller countries. It is on the brink of signing with India.
If we leave, we would regain the freedom to forge deals while continuing to trade freely with the EU.
The Remain campaign would have us believe the EU would impose tariff barriers in retribution, but the truth is we import nearly £70bn more from the continent than we sell there, so it would be an absurd act of economic self-harm for the EU to start a trade war with Britain.
The clearest risk is the prospect of remaining in the EU, locked to a doomed Eurozone. That is not a fanciful forecast, but an assessment of what is already happening, as well as the Union’s published plans for its future.
The Single Market is touted as one of the greatest benefits of EU membership. But in the 20 years since it came into force our trade with other EU countries has grown more slowly than in the two decades before.
It has become a tool for European integration, generating rules designed to fit 28 member states that cause a bureaucratic nightmare for the 87% of our economy that does not trade with Europe.
Small and medium-sized businesses, the engines of growth and innovation, bear the brunt of the costs, calculated at around £600m a week.
Around six in ten of our laws and regulations, including those affecting business, now stem from Brussels. We cannot touch or repeal them.
If we leave, we can design rules that suit the British economy, not the requirements of Latvia or Spain.
Within the EU, our influence will decline remorselessly. The growth in the number of decisions taken by Qualified Majority Voting will inevitably mean the UK is outvoted by Eurozone countries ganging up to rescue the single currency.
The euro has made Europe the world’s laggard. This year, the IMF forecasts the Eurozone will grow by just 1.5%, compared with 1.9% for the UK and 4.1% for emerging markets.
The euro has wrecked the hopes of a generation in southern Europe, with more than half young Greeks unemployed and almost as many in Spain.
The EU has set out its solution to the tensions of having a currency with no country. In the Five Presidents’ Report it calls for full economic and political integration of the Eurozone. Britain will be shut out of key decisions, which will be dictated by the needs of the euro.
In the renegotiation with Brussels, the EU demanded - and the Prime Minister foolishly surrendered - the UK’s veto on integration measures in the Eurozone. The best we can hope for is rearguard actions to protect our vital interests such as the City of London against hostile regulation.
There are other ways we can strengthen our economy by leaving. Not least of these will be regaining control of the money we send to the EU. We can continue payments to farmers, scientists and other good causes and still have billions a year extra for other priorities like the NHS, cutting VAT on energy bills, or providing tax breaks for entrepreneurs.
We will also see benefits from a managed migration system that allows us to fill skills gaps in the economy with the best-qualified people wherever in the world they come from.
It has become a tool for European integration, generating rules designed to fit 28 member states that cause a bureaucratic nightmare for the 87% of our economy that does not trade with Europe.
Small and medium-sized businesses, the engines of growth and innovation, bear the brunt of the costs, calculated at around £600m a week.
Around six in ten of our laws and regulations, including those affecting business, now stem from Brussels. We cannot touch or repeal them.
If we leave, we can design rules that suit the British economy, not the requirements of Latvia or Spain.
Within the EU, our influence will decline remorselessly. The growth in the number of decisions taken by Qualified Majority Voting will inevitably mean the UK is outvoted by Eurozone countries ganging up to rescue the single currency.
The euro has made Europe the world’s laggard. This year, the IMF forecasts the Eurozone will grow by just 1.5%, compared with 1.9% for the UK and 4.1% for emerging markets.
The euro has wrecked the hopes of a generation in southern Europe, with more than half young Greeks unemployed and almost as many in Spain.
The EU has set out its solution to the tensions of having a currency with no country. In the Five Presidents’ Report it calls for full economic and political integration of the Eurozone. Britain will be shut out of key decisions, which will be dictated by the needs of the euro.
In the renegotiation with Brussels, the EU demanded - and the Prime Minister foolishly surrendered - the UK’s veto on integration measures in the Eurozone. The best we can hope for is rearguard actions to protect our vital interests such as the City of London against hostile regulation.
There are other ways we can strengthen our economy by leaving. Not least of these will be regaining control of the money we send to the EU. We can continue payments to farmers, scientists and other good causes and still have billions a year extra for other priorities like the NHS, cutting VAT on energy bills, or providing tax breaks for entrepreneurs.
We will also see benefits from a managed migration system that allows us to fill skills gaps in the economy with the best-qualified people wherever in the world they come from.
EU referendum | Sixty years of strained relations
Britain has had a stormy relationship with Europe dating back more than half a century.
From resistance to its entry and rows over contributions to monetary policy disputes and threats to leave, Britain has had a bumpy ride within the European Union
1957 Treaty of Rome is signed
France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, six founding members of the European Economic Community, sign the Treaty of Rome, but Britain withdraws from early talks.
1963 France vetoes UK joining Common Market
With its economy flagging, Britain makes its first attempt to join the Common Market but is vetoed by Charles de Gaulle. The French President accuses Britain of a “deep-seated hostility” towards the European initiative.
1973 Britain joins EEC
With de Gaulle out of office, Britain is allowed into the European Economic Community at last, but within a year calls for major reform of Common Agricultural Policy as well as changes in way the budget is financed.
1975 EEC referendum
Harold Wilson’s Labour government holds a referendum over EEC membership, which splits the party but results on two thirds of British voters saying they want to stay in.
1983 Michael Foot defeated
Labour leader Michael Foot promises withdrawal from EEC in his election manifesto, but his party is heavily beaten by Margaret Thatcher’s Conservatives.
1984 Thatcher wins Brussels rebateFrance, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, six founding members of the European Economic Community, sign the Treaty of Rome, but Britain withdraws from early talks.
1963 France vetoes UK joining Common Market
With its economy flagging, Britain makes its first attempt to join the Common Market but is vetoed by Charles de Gaulle. The French President accuses Britain of a “deep-seated hostility” towards the European initiative.
1973 Britain joins EEC
With de Gaulle out of office, Britain is allowed into the European Economic Community at last, but within a year calls for major reform of Common Agricultural Policy as well as changes in way the budget is financed.
1975 EEC referendum
Harold Wilson’s Labour government holds a referendum over EEC membership, which splits the party but results on two thirds of British voters saying they want to stay in.
1983 Michael Foot defeated
Labour leader Michael Foot promises withdrawal from EEC in his election manifesto, but his party is heavily beaten by Margaret Thatcher’s Conservatives.
A key victory for Mrs Thatcher sees her win a “rebate” from Brussels. She had threatened to halt contributions because Britain was receiving far less in agricultural subsidies than some other members, notably France.
1990 Britain joins Exchange Rate Mechanism
Britain joins the Exchange Rate Mechanism, 11 years after it was set up to harmonise European countries’ financial systems before the creation of a single currency
1992
In what became known as Black Wednesday, Britain is forced to withdraw from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism, after failing to stem intense currency speculation.
1997
Britain declares it will not be joining the euro for the duration of that parliament, after the single currency fails Gordon Brown’s ‘five golden tests’.
1999
Tensions rise over France’s ban on British beef during the “mad cow” disease outbreak. France given an ultimatum from Brussels but the ban is not lifted until years later.
2007
Gordon Brown misses a televised ceremony of leaders signing Lisbon Treaty, which hands greater powers to Brussels. The controversial treaty took two years to negotiate, after plans for an official constitution were abandoned.
Bank levy clash
Cameron makes referendum pledge
2011
David Cameron clashes with Europe over plans to introduce a levy on banks and restrict London’s financial sector. The Prime Minister promises to bring back powers from Brussels.
2013
David Cameron promises an “In-Out” referendum if he wins the 2015 general election, which he does. He reiterates his manifesto commitment to hold a referendum before the end of 2017.
February 2016
David Cameron negotiates “new EU deal” for UK after 30 hours of talks but has to make series of concessions. The Prime Minister then announces the referendum will be held on June 23.
