‘Brexit’ would be a ‘national error,’ British PM warns
Issues appeal to stay in ‘Mirror’ tabloid
British Prime Minister LONDON David Cameron warned Monday that leaving the European Union would be a “national error.”
Cameron, leader of the centerright Conservative Party, made the statement in an opinion piece for the tabloid newspaper The
Mirror, which has traditionally supported the opposition leftwing Labor Party.
“It’s not every day you get a Tory (Conservative) Prime Minister writing in The Mirror. But then it’s not every day we face a decision of this magnitude: whether to stay in the EU or walk away,” he wrote in the piece, published Monday.
Britain will vote whether to leave the 28-member bloc — dubbed Brexit — in a referendum June 23. Cameron is campaigning to remain. Many of Cameron’s fellow conservatives favor Brexit while most Labor Party officials favor remaining within the EU.
“When I look at the EU, I see 500 million people we can trade with and a network of countries we can combat crime with,” Cam- eron wrote. “In times of economic uncertainty, when the threat of terrorism is so grave, I know we need those things more than ever.”
Polls reflect a nation closely divided on whether Britain should leave the alliance. Those who want to stay have enjoyed a slight advantage over the last few months.
However a poll published by Nasdaq on Friday said 85% of the people surveyed expected Brexit, while 15% did not.
“I’ve seen how free trade in Europe benefits working people,” Cameron wrote. “I’ve seen how manufacturing is boosted by trade deals the EU has with the rest of the world.”
The Vote Leave campaign group on Monday said its research suggested that the Single Market — which allows goods and services to move around the EU without restrictions — is failing British exporters.
It said the value of British exports to the EU rose by 0.33% over the past 15 years, compared with German exports that grew by 78.9% over the same period.
“There is no area of Britain’s EU membership that has overpromised and under-delivered quite as badly as the single market,” said John Longworth, chairman of the Vote Leave business council.