It should not have taken the unspeakable killing of a Member of Parliament to remind us that the passions driving the EU debate are not really about economics. That side of the argument is a no-brainer.
Though Michael Gove, justice secretary and leading Leave campaigner, asserts that “the British people are sick of experts” the consensus of economists — not to mention the heads of the Bank of England, the Trades Union Congress, and the International Monetary Fund — is that Brexit will wreak short-term devastation and long-term shrinkage on the economy. Capital flight, a collapsing currency, a vacuum of government and the drying up of research funds for science are not the fantasies of fearmongers but imminent realities.
Britain will be locked out of the single market unless it pays almost all that we currently remit and accepts freedom of movement. Among Brexit’s meagre team of economists, Patrick Minford has airily declared that leaving the EU will “mostly eliminate manufacturing”. So when heading straight for the iceberg it is possible that a shot of dismay may not be such a terrible idea.