A powerful new advocate of withdrawal from the EU
OF all the representatives of industry of recent vintage none has the reputation for more accurately reflecting the views of the business sector than Digby Jones.
This former director general of the Confederation of British Industry built his reputation principally on communicating conventional business thinking to political leaders.
But while trade minister in the last Labour administration he exhibited a capacity for radicalism, observing that the civil service was overstaffed and set up to stifle innovation.
It is hugely encouraging that Lord Jones has continued in such a vein by taking apart the case for Britain remaining inside the European Union as presently constituted. Better still he has nailed the “lie” that three million jobs depend on membership. “Leaving is not as some pretend such an unattractive option,” he has observed.
He has also called for David Cameron to “put the option of leaving on the negotiating table” in order to stand any chance of winning better membership terms. And he wants a referendum as soon as possible too. “Should we stay in the current mess? Frankly our nation just can’t afford to if we are to provide our grandchildren with a globally competitive economy,” he says.
Amen to that. Given the traditional caution of the corporate sector this is a significant straw in the wind. Corporate Britain is finally realising what small and medium-sized businesses have known for years: the EU is holding our economy back.