This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-22429790

The article has changed 10 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 8 Version 9
Ex-chancellor Lord Lawson calls for UK to exit EU Ex-chancellor Lord Lawson calls for UK to exit EU
(35 minutes later)
Former Chancellor of the Exchequer Lord Lawson has called for the UK to leave the European Union.Former Chancellor of the Exchequer Lord Lawson has called for the UK to leave the European Union.
Writing in the Times, he said economic gains from an exit "would substantially outweigh the costs". He said economic gains "would substantially outweigh the costs" and predicted Prime Minister David Cameron's attempts to renegotiate relations would be "inconsequential".
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". Leaving the EU would free the UK from red tape, he wrote in The Times.
But Downing Street said the prime minister remained "confident" his strategy would "deliver results". Mr Cameron said his planned referendum would deliver "not just a voice... but a vote on our future in Europe".
Mr Cameron is facing increased calls to bring forward a promised referendum on the UK's EU membership following the success of the UK Independence Party in last week's local elections in England. The prime minister is facing increased calls to bring forward a promised referendum on the UK's EU membership following the success of the UK Independence Party in last week's local elections in England.
'Warm embrace''Warm embrace'
The prime minister 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 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.
However, Lord Lawson said any such renegotiations would be "inconsequential" as "any powers ceded by the member states to the EU are ceded irrevocably".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 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 peer - who was Margaret Thatcher's chancellor for six years - voted to stay in the European Common Market, the EU's predecessor, in 1975, but said: "I shall be voting 'out' in 2017."
He said he "strongly" suspected there would be a "positive economic advantage to the UK in leaving the single market".He said he "strongly" suspected there would be a "positive economic advantage to the UK in leaving the single market".
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. 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", adding: "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%."
"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%," Lord Lawson added.
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.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.
Lord Lawson said his argument had "nothing to do with being anti-European", adding: "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.Lord Lawson said his argument had "nothing to do with being anti-European", adding: "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.
"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.""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."
'Clear timetable''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.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 party 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. The UKIP surge prompted a call from some senior Tories bring forward the planned referendum, while some others have 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. Asked whether Lord Lawson's comments had given UKIP a boost, Mr Cameron said: "I think it's been a good day for the pledge that, if re-elected, I will hold to it in a referendum, so that everyone can have not just a voice on everyone's future in Europe, but a vote on our future in Europe."
"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." He added that he welcomed the attention Lord Lawson had brought to his plans to renegotiate the UK's relations with the EU.
The BBC News Channel's chief political correspondent Norman Smith said Number 10 was pointing to the UK's success in obtaining a cut in the EU's budget this year as evidence that a new relationship could be secured. Mr Cameron said: "I want to give people not just a choice between the status quo and leaving the EU, but the choice between staying in a reformed EU and leaving."
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said leaving altogether would "make us less safe because we co-operate in the European Union to go after criminal gangs that cross borders".Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said leaving altogether would "make us less safe because we co-operate in the European Union to go after criminal gangs that cross borders".
He said it could put three million jobs at risk, made it difficult to deal with cross-border threats such as climate change, and would also mean Britain was "taken less seriously in Washington, Beijing, Tokyo".He said it could put three million jobs at risk, made it difficult to deal with cross-border threats such as climate change, and would also mean Britain was "taken less seriously in Washington, Beijing, Tokyo".
Replying, Lord Lawson told BBC Radio 4's World at One of the 3m jobs claim: "Well, that's poppycock - but I don't think Nick Clegg, who is a charming young man, has ever purported to know anything at all about economics."
UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage said Lord Lawson's intervention "legitimised" his party's longstanding argument that the UK could prosper outside the EU, while exposing "serious divisions" in the Conservatives.UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage said Lord Lawson's intervention "legitimised" his party's longstanding argument that the UK could prosper outside the EU, while exposing "serious divisions" in the Conservatives.
Former Conservative Party vice-chairman Bernard Jenkin insisted the "vast majority" of the party would vote to leave the EU. BBC political editor Robert Peston said the people running "our biggest companies would tend to be horrified at the idea of withdrawal from the EU".
But the leader of the UK's Liberal Democrat MEPs, Fiona Hall, said: "It is absurd to suggest that we must somehow choose between trade with Europe and with the rest of the world.
"We are on the cusp of a game-changing trade deal between the EU and the US, worth billions of pounds to the British economy, and major trade agreements with India and Japan are also in the pipeline. To leave the EU now would be ridiculous."