In April 2016 Roger Bootle wrote the overview to a paper by Economists for Brexit (HERE) where he claims the EU has and is likely to continue making what he calls 'cack handed' decisions in all the coming major issues. To him the EU has no redeeming features whatever apparently. He says, "It is not widely recognised that the EU is a comparative economic failure". No, it is not widely recognised, probably because it isn't true.
This was written at a time when we were growing faster than the Eurozone. But now we're growing at about half their rate (as we did for the post war period up to about 1973) so I assume logically he would argue the opposite, that we are a comparative economic failure - but I won't hold out too much hope. As for cack handed decisions, the one we made to leave the EU will take some beating for several generations at least.
To illustrate what passes for thinking in Mr Bootle's mind, his overview says on trade with the EU, the USA exports more to the single market outside of it than we do inside it! I don't doubt this is true but if this is what he thinks is the problem it is easily solved. All we need to do is unilaterally adopt the same tariff barriers and customs procedures that apply at the moment to EU/US trade and so put extra friction and costs onto our own EU exports and they will magically be boosted! This is the logic of his position.
The stupifyingly idiotic comment should tell him everything he needs to know but it doesn't. Our exporters cannot manage to succeed even on a level playing field - although he does not ask himself why - tilting it against ourselves is sheer insanity.
There is a detailed rebuttal of many of Mr Bootle's points made in an article for The Telegraph on Richard Corbett's blog HERE.
There is a detailed rebuttal of many of Mr Bootle's points made in an article for The Telegraph on Richard Corbett's blog HERE.
