As Ed Miliband weighs in, will his criticism of Leavers as wanting a “free market” Britain do more harm than good for Remain?
Diego Zuluaga, who works for the Institute of Economic Affairs and European think tank EpiCenter, says Yes.
The EU has done the most good when it has promoted open markets and free trade between countries. Europeans are much better off today thanks to the ability to move capital freely, the opportunity for talented individuals to work in other countries, and for students and pensioners to learn and retire in the places of their liking without having to worry about visas. It is precisely when the EU has acted as a machine for the production of regulation and the centralisation of laws that our well-being has been hurt. Thus, Ed Miliband is doubly wrong: if we vote to leave, we will only be better off to the extent that we pursue freer trade and less burdensome regulation. If we remain, we should make sure the freedoms guaranteed by the EU are preserved and promoted, while regulatory centralisation is kept to a minimum. A prosperous future for the UK is a free-market future, whether In or Out.
Angela Eagle MP, shadow leader of the House of Commons, says No.
Labour believes that continued membership of the European Union is essential for our prosperity and the development of our economy, so I’m delighted that Ed used his first speech post-leadership to make that point. A lack of effective regulation and an economy built on a race-to-the-bottom would do nothing to help those major companies who have invested in this country. It’s only by remaining in the EU that we can allow businesses to fully flourish in the future. Just this week, the CBI released research showing that Brexit could cost the UK economy £100bn and 950,000 jobs by 2020. A vote to leave the EU is a vote for uncertainty which more and more experts and businesses believe risks our future economic prosperity in this country. With independent projections like this, it would be irresponsible of anyone, but particularly a former Labour leader, not to warn people of those dangers and the threat to jobs and British industry.