Quote Originally Posted by noel View Post
. Listen to people who lead exporting companies. Here's the number one priority from the CBI: A barrier-free relationship with our largest, closest and most important trading partner
You speak as if the CBI has a great track record with its recommendations. It advocated that we join the ERM, which when we did led to soaring interest rates and thousands of homes being repossessed. It also banged the drum for Britain joining the euro and warned of dire consequences if we didn't. How did that one work out?

It's no surprise that the CBI is in favour of the EU. It is the voice of big business, which of course loves the complex regulation of the Single Market. This provides a perfect barrier to entry to enterprising start-up firms that don't have the compliance departments of the large corporations. Large firms also have the lobbying clout to influence unelected officials in Brussels to get the regulation they want, something not available to the smaller business. Yet all firms are subject to EU single market regulation even though the vast majority don't export to the EU.