Yesterday a group of eminent business leaders in Great Britain said no to a possible Brexit from the EU. In a letter to the Independent they stated that the EU had brought Britain an income increase, and leaving could cause trouble for British business, the City in particular.
Curiously, the interest of economics and business seem to be quite far away from the Tories’ political interest these days. The latest local council elections saw many of their voters go over to UKIP, which might suggest the party should take a more anti-EU position. But the Tory party is also traditionally friendly with business leaders, who suggest the direct opposite.
A way out of this problem might be provided if the political leaders didn’t just swing their opinions away from the EU, but looked into why sentiments among voters have taken this direction. Some of the underlying issues may ultimately be domestic, and not so much EU related. Or they may be due to a poor understanding of what it means for the UK to be in the European Union. Those problems could be solved without renegotiating with or leaving the EU.
Maybe I’m wrong. As said before, I find it hard to conceive that the Brits would want to leave the EU, for economic reasons. The sovereignty issue I get, as well as the problems the British have with the undemocratic nature of European institutions. But surely it’s better to try and solve these problems than to go solo?
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