UK will clean up outside EU, says vacuum tycoon
BRITAIN will be better off making a clean break from the EU without thrashing out a new Brussels deal, a leading entrepreneur said yesterday.
Sir James Dyson, who was a leading figure in the Leave campaign for last year’s EU referendum, forecast that the talks with the EU are set to fail.
But he said he believed quitting the bloc without a deal would create new global trading opportunities.
The vacuum cleaner inventor’s remarks follow deadlock between EU Exit Secretary David Davis and EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier.
Sir James poured scorn on complaints from some that leaving without a deal could lead to uncertainty. “There’s always uncertainty in business, about exchange rates, conditions in markets, natural disasters,” he said. “Uncertainty is an opportunity, and the opportunity here is actually that the rest of the world is growing at a far greater rate than Europe, so the opportunity is to export to the rest of the world and to capitalise on that.”
He acknowledged that British firms could face tariffs under World Trade Organisation rules when trading over EU borders after Brexit if the country leaves the bloc without a deal.
But he pointed out that his firm already paid WTO tariffs on some international transactions as a result of EU trade agreements with other countries around the world.
“It hasn’t hurt us at all – we’re one of the fastest growing companies in Europe,” he said. Sir James also said the debate about the single market was based on misunderstandings. “It’s a series of different markets with different languages, with different marketing required and different laws. It’s actually highly complex and broken up,” he said.
But John Lewis chairman Sir Charlie Mayfield said: “Brexit is having an effect on the economy. The main effects are sterling and confidence. Uncertainty is one of the consequences of this.”
Beatle Ringo Starr urged Prime Minister Theresa May to “get on with” pulling out of the EU.
The drummer was abroad at the time but would have voted Leave.
He said: “The people voted and they have to get on with it. Suddenly, it’s like ‘oh well, we don’t like that vote’. What do you mean you don’t like that vote? You’ve had that vote. This is what won, let’s get on with it.”
BEFORE the referendum a parade of big banks, multinational corporations and major global companies lectured us on the importance of staying inside the EU. It was always in their interest to do so. Brussels red tape protects the privileged position of big businesses by stifling their smaller competitors.
This suits the fatcats who run these corporations but it is not good for the economy as a whole. It is only by encouraging competition and supporting small businesses, innovators and entrepreneurs – precisely the sort of enterprises that lose out under Brussels rule – that we can build a successful and profitable economy.
To do that we have to stop pandering to the special interests of global firms and start taking the advice of successful entrepreneurs such as Sir James Dyson.
Sir James, the country’s foremost inventor and a formidable businessman, backed Leave ahead of the referendum. He wanted to see the next generation of innovators given the chance to flourish, grow their businesses and contribute meaningful benefits to the economy.
Now he has spoken about the possibility of leaving the EU without a trade deal, saying that it would create real opportunities. This is precisely the sort of positive attitude we need as the Brexit negotiations progress.
With so much doom and gloom being spread by our politicians and other business leaders, it is heartening to have Sir James as a reminder that there are lots of people out there looking to make the most of leaving the EU.