Addressing the EEF annual dinner, Martin Temple will argue the positive case, both economically and politically, for staying in the EU. He will also call for the UK to take a leading role in driving reform from within and for the UK’s elected politicians to lead this rather than simply giving up and taking the UK out.
Temple will say: “Our manufacturers, big and small depend on access to it, its supply chains and production networks. Large and easy access to market matters far more than just its spending power. It matters because it is a platform for scale. Big domestic markets allow their companies to grow quickly and take a strong global position. Big in Europe, big in the world.”
He will add: “The EU is a useful whipping post for populists but the facts of our economic lives in Britain are European. The job of our elected politicians is to commit themselves to using the power and influence they have to make it work better, rather than make excuses about the limitations they face, and simply giving up and taking us out into an abyss of uncertainty and risk."
Mr Temple will also highlight the attractiveness of the UK being in the EU as a magnet for Foreign Direct Investment and the risk to high value, high skill jobs should the UK leave:
EEF published a survey of manufacturers on Monday showing that 61% of EEF members wanted the UK to remain in the EU, while just 5% supported a ‘Brexit’. Most EEF members said that remaining in the EU was important (50%) or business critical (20%) for their company.
