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Wetherspoons founder blasts establishment over Brexit vote Wetherspoons founder blasts establishment over Brexit vote
(about 3 hours later)
JD Wetherspoon’s Eurosceptic chairman has attacked the political and economic establishment for doom-laden predictions about the impact of leaving the EU that he said have turned out to be false.JD Wetherspoon’s Eurosceptic chairman has attacked the political and economic establishment for doom-laden predictions about the impact of leaving the EU that he said have turned out to be false.
Tim Martin took aim at David Cameron, FTSE 100 bosses, the governor of the Bank of England, City economists and Goldman Sachs in a tirade accompanying his company’s annual results. He also disparaged the CBI, the International Monetary Fund and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.Tim Martin took aim at David Cameron, FTSE 100 bosses, the governor of the Bank of England, City economists and Goldman Sachs in a tirade accompanying his company’s annual results. He also disparaged the CBI, the International Monetary Fund and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Martin said: “In the run-up to, and the aftermath of, the recent referendum, the overwhelming majority of FTSE 100 companies, the employers’ organisation CBI, the IMF, the OECD, the Treasury, the leaders of all the main political parties and almost all representatives of British universities forecast trouble, often in lurid terms, for the economy, in the event of the leave vote. City voices such as PwC and Goldman Sachs, and the great preponderance of banks and other institutions, also leant weight to this negative view.” Martin said: “The overwhelming majority of FTSE 100 companies, the employers’ organisation CBI, the IMF, the OECD, the Treasury, the leaders of all the main political parties and almost all representatives of British universities forecast trouble, often in lurid terms, for the economy in the event of the leave vote. What I call ‘Scare Story 1’ was that the act of voting leave would cause an immediate and profound downturn in the economy and that’s been proved to be entirely false.”
All the gloomy predictions have turned out to be false, Martin said, adding that Wetherspoon’s trading had been strong since the end of its financial year. Pre-tax profit excluding one-off items for the year to 24 July rose 3.6% to £80.6m on sales up 5.4%. He said Wetherspoon’s trading had improved since the end of its financial year and suggested the pick-up was caused by sporting success, better weather and the referendum result. Pre-tax profit excluding one-off items for the year to 24 July rose 3.6% to £80.6m on sales up 5.4%.
He criticised Cameron and George Osborne for predicting that families would eventually be £4,000 worse off and that mortgage rates would rise and house prices would fall after a vote for Brexit. Mark Carney, the BoE’s governor, supported these claims “in terms”, he said. Martin criticised Cameron and George Osborne for predicting families would eventually be £4,000 worse off and that mortgage rates would rise and house prices would fall after a vote for Brexit. Mark Carney, the BoE’s governor, supported these claims “in terms”, he said.
Martin, a long-standing critic of the EU, attacked the head of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, Britain’s most respected economic thinktank, for saying it was a given that economists were correct in predicting bad consequences from a vote to leave.Martin, a long-standing critic of the EU, attacked the head of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, Britain’s most respected economic thinktank, for saying it was a given that economists were correct in predicting bad consequences from a vote to leave.
“This is a strange argument to advance since consensus forecasts from economists, who generally failed to forecast the last recession or the catastrophic flaws of the euro, are almost always delusional,” Martin said.“This is a strange argument to advance since consensus forecasts from economists, who generally failed to forecast the last recession or the catastrophic flaws of the euro, are almost always delusional,” Martin said.
Economic surveys since the vote to leave on 23 June have been mixed. A report showing a recovery in the services industry during August followed a rebound for manufacturing and high street spending. But economists have said the UK could still slip into recession and have warned that higher prices and slowing investment will eventually take their toll.Economic surveys since the vote to leave on 23 June have been mixed. A report showing a recovery in the services industry during August followed a rebound for manufacturing and high street spending. But economists have said the UK could still slip into recession and have warned that higher prices and slowing investment will eventually take their toll.
Martin said: “They [the experts] didn’t say ‘in the long run’. The Treasury said interest rates would immediately go up and that it would cause so much uncertainty that unemployment would go up and there would be an immediate and severe shock. There is only one thing that is definitely true and that is democracy is better for your economy.”
Rival pub operator and brewer Greene King was warier about the economy than Martin. In a trading update, it said consumer confidence and leisure spending were threatened by the referendum result “and we are alert to a potentially tougher trading environment ahead”.Rival pub operator and brewer Greene King was warier about the economy than Martin. In a trading update, it said consumer confidence and leisure spending were threatened by the referendum result “and we are alert to a potentially tougher trading environment ahead”.
Martin said that having been proved wrong about the damaging effects of a Brexit vote, the establishment was raising unnecessary fears about whether Britain could do a trade deal with the EU and that trade would continue with or without a formal agreement.Martin said that having been proved wrong about the damaging effects of a Brexit vote, the establishment was raising unnecessary fears about whether Britain could do a trade deal with the EU and that trade would continue with or without a formal agreement.
“‘Scare Story 2’ is that failure to agree on a trade deal with the EU will have devastating consequences. Common sense suggests that the worst approach for the UK is to insist on the necessity of a ‘deal’ – we don’t need one and the fact that EU countries sell us twice as much as we sell them creates a hugely powerful negotiating position.” He added: “‘Scare Story 2’ is that if we don’t join the single market we are in deep trouble and that is across mainstream economists. That is also in my view absolute twaddle.”