Sky News: More than 300 business leaders have called for the UK to vote to leave the EU, saying red tape “stifles” the country’s businesses and Brexit would create more jobs.
They hit back at senior voices lining up behind the Government in favour of a vote to remain in the EU, saying the UK’s membership is undermining its competitiveness.
Signatories to letter, published in The Daily Telegraph, include Superdrug founder Peter Goldstein, former Sony Europe vice president Steve Dowdle, the former chairman of British American Tobacco Sir Patrick Sheehy and Goldman Sachs managing director David Sismey.
Hundreds of others from small and medium-sized businesses also signed the letter.
They said: “Britain is the fifth biggest economy in the world and, on current projections, will overtake Germany to become Europe’s powerhouse.
“Britain is America’s largest inward investor, and our openness and dynamism mean we attract more inward investment than any other European country.
“Britain’s competitiveness is being undermined by our membership of a failing EU.
“Brussels red tape stifles every one of Britain’s 5.4 million businesses, even though only a small minority actually trade with the EU.
“It is business – not government – which generates wealth for the Treasury and jobs for our communities.
“Outside the EU, British businesses will be free to grow faster, expand into new markets and create more jobs.
“It’s time to vote leave and take back control.”
The letter comes days after the Bank of England and the International Monetary Fund warned that leaving the EU would damage the UK’s economy.
And on Sunday, Commonwealth business leaders across the globe said EU membership makes the UK a more attractive place to invest and makes the EU more outward looking.
CBI director-general Carolyn Fairbairn said: “Remaining in the European Union and trading with some of our closest Commonwealth allies are not mutually exclusive – they are mutually reinforcing.
“Our membership of the EU gives us a home market of 500 million customers, while EU trade deals open up new opportunities in markets across the world, including our historic Commonwealth friends.
“Leaving the EU would mean going back to the drawing board.
“We would have to undertake lengthy negotiations to secure brand new deals, which we know from experience can take many years.”
