Every family will be up to £3,500 worse off if Britain leaves the European Union, business leaders including the heads of BT, Shell and Eurostar warned today.
Euorsceptic Tories calling for withdrawal from Brussels are accused of putting ‘politics before economics’, with EU membership worth between £31billion and £92billion a year to the UK.
Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson, Sir Win Bischoff chairman of Lloyds Banking Group and Sir Martin Sorrell of global advertising firm WPP are among 20 business chiefs who signed an open letter on the need to ‘promote the cause of EU membership’.
David Cameron’s leadership has been thrown off course by the issue of Europe.
Having once told the Tory party to stop ‘banging on’ about Brussels, he has since promise to renegotiate a new deal for Britain for staging an in-out referendum if he is PM after the next election.
But two Cabinet ministers – Michael Gove and Philip Hammond – went public last week with their view that Britain should leave the EU if a referendum was held now.
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David Cameron's leadership has been rocked by the issue of EuropeNow 20 business leaders, including the current and next presidents of the CBI have hit back at the growing tide of Euorscepticism, insisting more must be done to put the case for remaining in the EU.
In an open letter to The Independent they argue that the ‘economic case to stay in the EU is overwhelming’.
Membership of the EU is estimated to be worth between £31billion and £92billionn per year in income gains, or between £1,200 to £3,500 for every household, the letter adds.
‘What we should now be doing is fighting hard to deliver a more competitive Europe, to combat the criticism of those that champion our departure.
‘We should promote the cause of EU membership as well as defend our position.
‘The benefits of membership overwhelmingly outweigh the costs, and to suggest otherwise is putting politics before economics.’
Along with Roland Rudd, the chairman of Business for New Europe, the letter has also been signed by senior figures from UBM, Centrica, Nomura, Deloitte, Corsair Capital, ASA International, Scottish Power, 3i, Rothschild, Key Safety Systems Inc, Clifford Chance and Renshaw Bay.
Mr Cameron’s position on Europe was criticised by former Tory Chancellor Lord Howe who said the Prime Minister was in danger of losing control of his party as the Conservatives' long, nervous breakdown’ over Europe continued.
But Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt insisted that the Tory party was absolutely united’ on the issue of Europe and Lord Howe's views did not ‘represent the reality’ of the situation.
