A Brexit vote could cost 70,000 new posts

MORE than 70,000 new jobs in Scotland will be put at risk by a Brexit vote, business leaders will claim today.

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) will argue that strengthening economic ties within the EU could boost the country’s manufacturing, retail and banking sectors.

But the figures are based on greater openness and co-operation between member states, which includes financial market reform, an integrated energy market and – most contentiously – the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.

The bilateral trade agreement with the US is designed to remove trade barriers, which critics claim could allow American firms to access public services and open the door to NHS privatisation.

CBI Scotland director Hugh Aitken said: ‘The UK’s membership of the European Union has been of enormous benefit to Scotland for over 40 years. Some of the key sectors that lie at the heart of communities across the region, from manufacturing to retail, rely on our membership of the single market.

‘Virtually every economist agrees leaving the EU would likely cause an economic shock, damaging Scotland’s prospects. We’d not only put a dent in what we have now, we’d also miss out on thousands of jobs in the near future, as a result of losing access to the single market, pulling the rug from under our local economy.

‘This is why the majority of businesses want the UK to remain inside the EU, to best drive growth, support and create jobs and increase prosperity for our region.’

According to the CBI, remaining in the single market could lead to an extra 70,800 jobs north of the Border by 2030.

But pro-Brexit Tory MSP Ross Thomson said: ‘Not even the CBI can deny that the UK could thrive outside the EU.

‘In fact, our economy would do far better not being tied to a failing eurozone, which has seen no growth, costing Scotland £30million every single week.

‘Inside the EU we are blinkered to one market, unable to strike our own trade deals with the fastest growing economies on the planet. We are forced to send billions every year to Brussels and see little in return for it.

‘If we leave, Scottish industries could access global markets, striking free trade deals with India, the US, China.’

Labour claimed Brexit could lead to lower growth in the UK economy and a rise in public sector borrowing – leading to a £2.3billion cut to Scotland’s block grant by 2019-20.

Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale said: ‘Being part of the EU is good for Scotland’s economy.

‘Hundreds of thousands of Scottish jobs are linked to our trade with the EU and a Leave vote on Thursday would put that at risk.

‘Anything that damages our economy damages our public services because there will be less money to spend on schools and the NHS. A Leave vote could mean extra cuts of up to £2.3billion. We can’t afford even more austerity with Brexit.

‘The Leave campaign can’t give basic

answers about what will happen to jobs, the economy and our public services if we walk out of the EU.’

Meanwhile, the chief executive of drinks giant Diageo, Ivan Menezes, has also warned of economic dangers if Britain leaves the EU.

‘I believe very strongly that the UK’s membership of the European Union has a pivotal role to play in the future,’ he said.

‘I take this view not out of fear of what would happen if the UK was outside the EU.

‘It is because I have seen the enormous benefits that EU membership has brought our industry and the positive opportunity it offers in the decades ahead.’