EU referendum: George Osborne warns Brexit will hit Britain where it hurts – property prices
George Osborne has warned that the nation's homeowners face a double whammy drop in house prices and a rise in mortgage costs if Britain votes to leave Europe.
"It’s already clear from the Treasury analysis that for example, there would a significant shock to the housing market, that would hit the value of people’s homes, that would hit the cost of mortgages," the chancellor said on ITV's Peston on Sunday show, appealing to homeowners ahead of the June vote.
A new report, due to be published by the Treasury in the next few weeks, will focus specifically on the costs Brexit may have on the country's property market in the short-term, he said.
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It follows a comprehensive report on Brexit's economic impact, including a figure of £4,300 as a cost to each household.
"We’ve just had the Leave campaign admit this morning that Britain would leave the single market, that’s the biggest free trade area in the world. That would be catastrophic for people’s incomes, jobs and livelihoods," Osborne continued, responding to comments made on Sunday morning by colleague and Brexit supporter Michael Gove, who appeared on the BBC's Andrew Marr show.
"Now some people think wrecking the economy is a price worth paying, I absolutely reject that. If you’re working in a car plant in the north east of England, or working in a call centre in Bournemouth… you will be affected by that in a very bad way," added Osborne.
Gove has also been accused of "willfully misrepresenting" where business stands on the EU, after the justice secretary suggested a large proportion of business wanted to leave Europe.
“It is willfully misleading to suggest that a large proportion of businesses want to leave the European Union – every business survey bar none, across all sectors and of all different sizes of business, shows a majority wanting to stay in the EU," said Carolyn Fairbairn of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI).
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“80 per cent of the CBI’s members have said their businesses would be more successful within the EU, and only 5 per cent want to leave. Organisations representing sectors as diverse as manufacturers, car makers, aerospace and defence to financial services, tech startups, farmers and healthcare, across the length and breadth of the UK, paint a similar picture," Fairbairn continued.
“In a world of growing protectionism and economic uncertainty, it is cloud cuckoo land to believe that the UK could easily walk into free trade agreements with the EU if it left the single market, and businesses know this.”