Letter to the Daily Telegraph

[Gromit]

EU vital to 3 million British jobs.

http://www.telegraph....he-single-market.html

What do you make of that?

[ichkeria]

It's common sense, that's what it is!

"First, it is in Britain’s interest that the euro survives and we therefore should do everything we can to ensure the necessary steps are taken to guarantee its viability. "

This is exactly what George Osborne was claiming before the summit. Which makes it all the odder that everything the government has done since seems to go against that.

[jake-the-peg]

I've pointed this out before but a lot of people still don't seem to get it.

We are more dependant on inward investment than any other country in Europe.

I myself work for a big US company

These big multi-nationals don't think in terms of countries but massive geographic markets

They think US/Europe/Asia

If we were out of the EU they wouldn't suddenly go away but new projects would start to be located in other countries and investment in the UK would slowly stagnate and die.

Why? because they want to be located in these markets - they're not interested in the British Market they're interested in being in the European market and the UK's a great location in the EU due to the language and the workforce and many other reasons.

But those reasons aren't enough if we're not in the game

It's like buying a house - it can be the nicest house in the world but if it's in the wrong location you're not going to buy it

[rojash]

"It's a letter from some Europhiles, big deal. "

Actually, it's a letter from some CEOs, chairmen, managing directors, etc., but let's not let that get in the way of our prejudices, eh, ansteyg?

[flip_flop]

My company does a lot of business with the Americans - it accounts for almost 60% of income - and the reason they deal with us is because The City, where we are based, is the world's premier and best market for banking and insurance and we share a common language.

Contrary to Jake's assertion (and I can only speak from experience) the Americans couldn't give a tinker's cuss whether we are or are not in the EU.

Also, we import more from the EU than we export - given this, would they really cast us adrift? No, of course not.

[DTCwordfan]

flip-flop - the Americans do care.....

they are our biggest creditor when you take sovereign and commercial debt into account. This is what underwrites our credit rating viz the French, not only the US banking sums due but also the impact of the City in terms of commercial loans. Plus the difference being that we have a central bank that can shuffle the economic cards accordingly, whereas the French are dependent on the EU as a whole.

For a better understanding of this, the following graphic tool is excellent, though there is one flaw, the Chinese are not included.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15748696

[New Judge]

The missing piece in the jig-saw puzzle which jake so selectively (and frequently) describes is the City of London. The City accounts for about 45% of all financial transactions globally. Paris and Frankfurt account for about 2% and 3% respectively. Apart from volume, the City also commands huge respect for its expertise in handling international investment. Just last week Volkswagen chose a London organisation to run its corporate financial affairs for just this reason, and it did so after the UK had become “isolated” from the rest of Europe by the Prime Minister’s intransigence in refusing to agree to treaty amendments aimed at “saving” the Euro.

It is perfectly true that the UK attracts a considerable amount of inward investment from outside the EU by companies wishing to market their goods in Europe. But there is no evidence whatsoever to show that this investment would decline or cease if the UK left the EU. Just because it has been said it will happen does not mean that it will. In fact, there is certainly some evidence to suggest that companies take no heed of EU membership when considering their investment. Toyota recently announced a large investment in its plant in Russia. Models made there are exported into the EU and are only made there, not in the EU. If it so difficult or disadvantageous to set up shop outside the EU why did a company like Toyota make a major investment outside the bloc?

The UK - including the signatories to the letter to the Telegraph - may be pleasantly surprised at the avantages of leaving the EU. It would be unshackled by its ridiculous over-regulation, free of the undemocratic structures which cause so much friction, and richer by at least £1bn a month.