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Lord Lawson calls for UK to exit EU Former Tory chancellor Lord Lawson calls for UK to exit EU
(about 9 hours later)
The former chancellor of the exchequer, Lord Lawson, has called for the UK to leave the European Union.The former chancellor of the exchequer, Lord Lawson, has called for the UK to leave the European Union.
Writing in the Times, he said British economic gains from an exit "would substantially outweigh the costs".Writing in the Times, he said British economic gains from an exit "would substantially outweigh the costs".
He describes the EU as "a bureaucratic monstrosity" and added that after an association with Brussels of 40 years "the case for exit is clear". He predicted any changes achieved by David Cameron's attempts to renegotiate the terms of the UK's relations with the EU would be "inconsequential".
Prime Minister David Cameron is facing calls to bring forward a promised referendum on the UK's EU membership. But Downing Street said the prime minister remained "confident" that his strategy "will deliver results.
He says he will hold a vote early in the next parliament, should the Conservatives win the next general election. Mr Cameron is facing calls to bring forward a promised referendum on the UK's EU membership.
Lord Lawson believes that leaving the EU would prove to be a wake-up call for business leaders. He says he will hold a vote early in the next parliament - should the Conservatives win the next general election - but only after renegotiating the terms of the UK's relationship with the EU.
He said that too many of them were content to be in "the warm embrace of the European single market" when the great export opportunities lay in the developing world, particularly Asia. However, Lord Lawson said any such renegotiations would be "inconsequential" as "any powers ceded by the member states to the EU are ceded irrevocably".
"The heart of the matter is that the relevant economic context nowadays is not Europe but globalisation. I strongly suspect that there would be a positive economic advantage to the UK in leaving the single market." The BBC's political editor Nick Robinson said Lord Lawson's intervention was a "big moment" in the EU debate.
Voting 'out' Regulatory 'frenzy'
He added that severing UK membership would save the City of London from a "frenzy of regulatory activism". The peer - who was Margaret Thatcher's chancellor for six years - voted to stay in the European Common Market, as the EU was known in 1975, but said: "I shall be voting 'out' in 2017."
"The heart of the matter is that the very nature of the European Union, and of this country's relationship with it, has fundamentally changed after the coming into being of the European monetary union and the creation of the eurozone, of which - quite rightly - we are not a part." He said he "strongly" suspected there would be a "positive economic advantage to the UK in leaving the single market".
For these reasons, Lord Lawson says, having voted to stay in the European Common Market, as the EU was known in 1975, "I shall be voting "out" in 2017". Far from hitting business hard, it would instead be a wake-up call for those who had been too content in "the warm embrace of the European single market" when the great export opportunities lay in the developing world, particularly Asia.
"Not only do our interests increasingly differ from those of the eurozone members but, while never "at the heart of Europe" (as our political leaders have from time to time foolishly claimed), we are now becoming increasingly marginalised as we are doomed to being consistently outvoted by the eurozone bloc." "Over the past decade, UK exports to the EU have risen in cash terms by some 40%. Over the same period, exports to the EU from those outside it have risen by 75%," he added.
The peer - who was Margaret Thatcher's chancellor for six years - said the loss of the advantages of being within the single market were "marginal". Withdrawing from the EU would also save the City of London from a "frenzy of regulatory activism", such as the financial transactions tax that Brussels is seeking to impose.
"You do not need to be within the single market to be able to export to the European Union, as we see from the wide range of goods on our shelves every day. The statistics are eloquent. Lord Lawson said his argument had "nothing to do with being anti-European".
"Over the past decade, UK exports to the EU have risen in cash terms by some 40%. Over the same period, exports to the EU from those outside it have risen by 75%. "The heart of the matter is that the very nature of the European Union, and of this country's relationship with it, has fundamentally changed after the coming into being of the European monetary union and the creation of the eurozone, of which - quite rightly - we are not a part.
"The heart of the matter is that the relevant economic context nowadays is not Europe but globalisation, including global free trade, with the World Trade Organisation as its monitor." "Not only do our interests increasingly differ from those of the eurozone members but, while never 'at the heart of Europe' (as our political leaders have from time to time foolishly claimed), we are now becoming increasingly marginalised as we are doomed to being consistently outvoted by the eurozone bloc."
He went on to say that he "strongly" suspects that there would be a "positive economic advantage to the UK in leaving the single market". 'Clear timetable'
At the local elections last week, the UK Independence Party - which campaigns for the UK to leave the EU - made substantial gains, while the Conservatives lost control of 10 councils.
The UKIP surge prompted a call from senior Tory MP David Davis to bring forward the planned referendum - while other Conservatives, including former chairman Lord Tebbit, urged Mr Cameron to take steps to give the public more confidence that a referendum would indeed take place if he wins the next general election.
Reacting to Lord Lawson's comments, a Downing Street spokesman said: "The PM has always been clear: we need a Europe that is more open, more competitive, and more flexible; a Europe that wakes up to the modern world of competition. In short, Europe has to reform.
"But our continued membership must have the consent of the British people, which is why the PM has set out a clear timetable on this issue."
Political commentator and Times' comment editor Tim Montgomerie told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the article would add fuel to the debate on Europe within the Conservative Party that Mr Cameron had hoped could wait until further down the line.
"Lord Lawson will give much more confidence to those people who do want to leave the EU to go public with those views," he added.