‘We CAN thrive on our own’

Top City investor says fears over UK exit ‘lack credibility’

ONE of Britain’s biggest investors last night described claims that leaving the EU would crash the UK economy as ‘bogus’.

Business groups including the CBI and banks such as Goldman Sachs have issued increasingly shrill warnings about the dangers of leaving the EU.

But their claims were savaged by fund manager Neil Woodford.

In a video message to his army of loyal investors, he said claims Britain’s future prosperity hinges on its ties with Brussels ‘lack credi- bility’. The 55-year-old – who runs more than £14billion of savers’ cash and backs a string of bluechip companies including BT and GlaxoSmithKline – said the ‘fundamentals of the economy will be relatively unmoved’ whether the UK stays or leaves.

He conceded that Brexit would be ‘politically, a significant event’, but added: ‘ I’ve heard both views … that staying is incredibly beneficial or leaving would be very damaging, and I’ve heard the opposite argument from an economic point of view. I think it’s pretty clear that that’s a bogus argument. I think it’s really hard to see any significant credibility in an argument to stay or to leave constructed around economics.’

Last night Eurosceptics said the intervention by Mr Woodford – considered one of the most influential City figures – was another blow for pro-Brussels ‘scaremongers’.

Ukip MP Douglas Carswell, of Vote Leave, said: ‘Neil Woodford has managed to persuade thousands of Brits to look after billions of pounds of their savings. He understands what a good bet is and is one of the most successful fund managers of all time. Unlike spin doctors at the CBI and cheerleaders for Brussels behind the Remain campaign this is a man who understands how wealth is created. We should listen to him and not the scaremongers.’

Matthew Elliott, chief executive of Vote Leave, said: ‘Pro-EU campaigners are relying on hollow scaremongering because they haven’t got a positive message about the EU. It is clear if we want decisions about the economy, our borders and our democracy to be taken in the UK then the only safe option is to vote to leave.’

Mr Woodford’s comments echoed the findings of an independent report into the economic impact of Brexit – a report he commissioned to address growing concerns about the EU referendum among his investors.

The report by consultancy firm Capital Economics rejected warnings from the In campaign that quitting the EU would blow the UK’s recovery off course and cause irreparable damage to trade, jobs, foreign investment and the City. The pro-EU camp has regularly warned Brexit would lead to a slump in trade with EU countries, and result in the loss of up to four million jobs among Britain’s manufacturers and exporters.

But this was dismissed as ‘wild overstatement’ by Capital Economics.

The report added it is ‘highly probable a favourable trade agreement would be reached after Brexit and that the UK could ‘broker its own trade deals with non-EU countries’.

The optimistic prognosis is supported by official figures released earlier this month showing Britain’s economy is less reliant than ever on the crisis-hit EU. Sales to EU countries lagged behind exports to the rest of the world in 2015 for the second year in a row.

Capital Economics said the UK’s dominant financial services sector ‘would probably be hit in the short term’ by Brexit but it ‘would not spell disaster’, adding: ‘ Although the impact of Brexit … is uncertain, we doubt that Britain’s long-term economic outlook hinges on it.’

Earlier this week, the heads of 21 business federations, led by the proEU CBI, signed a letter calling on the UK to maintain ties with the EU.

But this gave ammunition to Eurosceptics as several signatories warned Brexit would be a disaster for Europe rather than Britain.

Pro-EU Wall Street bank Goldman Sachs warned earlier this month that the pound would collapse in value if Britain left. But this was shrugged off by Mr Woodford, who said any currency weakness would be ‘relatively temporary’ and would boost exports by making them cheaper abroad.

Stronger In’s Lucy Thomas said: ‘Neil Woodford’s report concedes there could be some damage.

‘Being able to sell to the largest market in the world supports jobs and trade here at home. Leaving would mean extra costs for UK businesses, putting that at risk.’

‘Favourable trade

agreement’