SPORTS DIRECT AND TO THE POINT

04 NEWS WEDNESDAY 8 JUNE 2016
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Osborne: Huge
outflows will
trail Brexit vote
MARK SANDS
@mksands
A DRAMATIC surge of money leaving
the UK or being converted into other
currency is “a taste of things to come”
if Britain votes for Brexit, chancellor
George Osborne has said.
According to Sky News, Bank of England
figures show £65bn of capital left
British assets in March and April.
In March alone, the outflow was
£59bn, equivalent to £1.3m every
minute of the month.
By contrast, £2bn left for the six
months to the end of October 2015.
Osborne said: “Financial markets are
telling us what all the evidence shows:
that Britain will be permanently
poorer if we vote to leave the EU and
the single market.
“There will be less investment in
Britain and that means fewer jobs and
lower living standards. If we vote to
leave, what we are seeing now is just
a taste of things to come.”
Brexit campaigner John Redwood
called the chancellor’s comments
“alarmist rhetoric”.
“Any serious economist will tell you
that the pound is up against the dollar
since February, and the UK’s foreign
exchange reserves have increased
this year.
“We are the fifth largest economy in
the world, and will fare perfectly well
outside of the EU – as the Prime Minister
himself acknowledged,” he said.
It comes after the pound was
boosted by stronger polls for Remain.
Following dramatic falls earlier this
week, the pound climbed by more
than one per cent against the US dollar
to stand at $1.4592 yesterday.
It came partly in response to a new
ORB poll, which put Remain in the
lead, with 52 per cent to 40 per cent.
However, among those certain to
vote, the lead was just one per cent at
48 per cent to 47 per cent.
Brexit would hamper trade relations, says WTO director general Roberto Azevedo
WTO chief warns vote to leave
would hurt British exporters
CAITLÍN MORRISON
@citycait
A VOTE to leave the EU will cause
British exporters to suffer, the
director general of the World Trade
Organisation (WTO) has warned.
“While trade would continue, it
could be on worse terms,” said WTO
chief Roberto Azevedo.
“Most likely, it would cost more for
the UK to trade with the same
markets – therefore damaging the
competitiveness of UK companies.”
Azevedo said exporters would risk
having to pay up to £5.6bn each year
in duty on their exports.
“Key aspects of the EU’s terms of
trade could not simply be cut and
pasted for the UK,” he added.
CITYAM.COM
Business lobby:
Firms must get
workers to polls
JOSH MARTIN
@JoshMartinNZ
BRITAIN’S biggest business lobby
group the CBI is urging 190,000
companies to let its employees
work flexibly on 23 June to enable
them to vote in the EU referendum.
Carolyn Fairbairn, CBI directorgeneral,
said that the referendum
will be the “biggest decision that
most of us will get to vote on in our
lifetimes”.
Fairbairn said that firms should
ensure their employees get time to
vote on the day of the EU poll.
She said: “Firms have an
important role to play: where
possible, they should do what they
can to help their staff have the time
to cast their vote.
“That might mean showing
greater flexibility on when they
expect employees to arrive at work
and leave for the day, or perhaps
see how shift patterns can be
adjusted as a one-off.”
Brexit group Vote Leave
dismissed the CBI’s move as a
“desperate” effort.
A spokesperson told City A.M.:
“The move shows desperation of
the CBI and its Brussels cronies to
try and get people to vote remain.”
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