For years the tabloids have been feeding us scare stories about the interfering EU. But how would they react to the fallout from a European exit if it meant filthy beaches, even more toxic smog and an influx of knock-off pork pies?Well, that settles it. By re-electing David Cameron, the UK has committed itself to a referendum on whether we should leave the European Union. It will be held, the prime minister says, no later than the end of 2017, and perhaps as early as next year.Nothing like a British exit – or Brexit – has ever happened before. It would mean the complete wrenching away of the third-largest national economy in the EU. For the UK, the legal changes alone would be bewildering and profound. “This is uncharted territory,” says Mark Paulson of the Law Society, “and no one knows for sure how it would pan out.” A recent German study suggested that the most benign Brexit they could imagine, in which Britain turned serenely into a giant Switzerland, would still cut 2% off the country’s GDP. Something painful, on the other hand, might reduce it by an utterly crippling 14%. That’s a Greek-scale catastrophe. Continue reading...
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