Brexit economists hit back with thriving UK report

Bloomberg

Brexit campaigners sought to seize back the initiative in the referendum battle as eight high-profile economists declared Britain would do better outside the European Union.
Analysis published by the Treasury on the consequences of leaving the EU is a “misleading piece of propaganda,” according to the group, which includes Patrick Minford, a professor at Cardiff University, Gerard Lyons, chief economic adviser to London Mayor Boris Johnson, and Roger Bootle, founder of Capital Economics Ltd.
In an arrangement where the U.K. accessed EU markets under WTO terms, gross domestic product could increase 4 percent over 10 years, they said in a report.
“The reality is that under a WTO agreement, the U.K. will be far better off,” Minford said at an event in London on Thursday.
“Walking away from the EU, not negotiating a new agreement with the EU or putting up any new trade barriers will bring about a 4 percent gain in GDP.”
The campaign to quit the EU has been on the back foot over the economy in recent weeks following a chorus of warnings about the potential fallout. U.S. President Barack Obama said last week that Britain would go to “the back of the queue” for a new trade deal if voters decide to leave the EU in the June 23 referendum.
Obama’s strongly worded intervention came after the Treasury issued a 200-page analysis claiming a Brexit would inflict permanent economic damage. Bank of England Governor Mark Carney says leaving the EU is the biggest danger to domestic financial stability and groups including the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have all warned of adverse consequences.
Even European Central Bank President Mario Draghi has chimed in, during an interview with the German newspaper Bild published on Wednesday.