Continued
membership of the European Union would leave Britain with huge economic
turmoil, akin to those affecting Greece and Spain, the chairman of JD
Wetherspoon said, as he joined 249 other business leaders in openly backing
Brexit.
Tim
Martin, who founded the pub chain in 1979, said the EU was transferring power
away from its member states and handing it to unelected officials in Brussels.
As a result, he pointed out, countries like Spain and Greece that are struggling
to drag themselves out of an economic downturn had no power over their own
budgets and interest rates.
“Democracy
has gone hand in hand with the highest level of prosperity for decades and
decades and decades,” Martin said in an interview on BBC Radio 4’s Today
programme on Saturday morning.
“West
Germany was much more successful economically than East Germany; South Korea is
more successful than North Korea. North America is the best example, with its
democratic constitution; and look at South America, poor people who live in so
many of the countries there haven’t had democracy, and which is the most
successful country?
“People
know this instinctively, people know this. We can have clever debating points,
but democracy equals prosperity. If they take it away you are going to get
Greece and you will get Spain and you will get the massive economic problems
people are now having when democracy is removed from people. That’s the key
issue.”
Martin’s
comments came as the Vote Leave campaign announced that its business council
will be chaired by John Longworth, the former director general of the British
Chambers of Commerce.
In
a statement, the campaign said that the council will make the case that EU
membership is holding back British business. A YouGov poll commissioned by Vote
Leave found a third of businesses see the EU as a hindrance.
Other
business leaders backing the campaign include Joe Foster, cofounder of Reebok,
Michael Geoghegan, former chief executive of HSBC, David Ross, founder of
Carphone Warehouse, and the hedge fund manager Crispin Odey.
Matthew
Elliott, chief executive of Vote Leave said: “We’re delighted that John
Longworth has agreed to chair Vote Leave’s business council. His strong business
track record and his courageous decision to share his true beliefs with voters
makes him an extremely powerful voice in the EU debate.
“With
our growing list of business supporters, Vote Leave will make that case that
whilst the EU might be good for big multinationals, for smaller businesses it
acts as a job destruction regulatory machine.
“Brussels
hinders smaller businesses, particularly those firms who can’t afford to lobby
Brussels to curry favour. Jobs, wages and our economy will thrive when we take
back control and Vote Leave.”
