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| Wetherspoon's founder rails at establishment over Brexit vote | |
| (35 minutes 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 chief executives, the governor of the Bank of England, City economists and Goldman Sachs in a tirade accompanying the pub chain’s annual results. He also disparaged the CBI, the International Monetary Fund and the OECD. | Tim Martin took aim at David Cameron, FTSE 100 chief executives, the governor of the Bank of England, City economists and Goldman Sachs in a tirade accompanying the pub chain’s annual results. He also disparaged the CBI, the International Monetary Fund and the OECD. |
| “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,” 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,” Martin said. |
| “What I call ‘scare story one’ 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.” | “What I call ‘scare story one’ 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.” |
| He said Wetherspoon’s trading had improved since the end of its financial year and suggested that this 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 by 3.6% to £80.6m, on sales that increased by 5.4%. | He said Wetherspoon’s trading had improved since the end of its financial year and suggested that this 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 by 3.6% to £80.6m, on sales that increased by 5.4%. |
| Martin criticised Cameron and the former chancellor George Osborne for predicting that families would eventually be £4,300 worse off, mortgage rates would rise and house prices would fall after a vote for Brexit. Mark Carney, the Bank’s governor, supported these claims “in terms”, he said. | Martin criticised Cameron and the former chancellor George Osborne for predicting that families would eventually be £4,300 worse off, mortgage rates would rise and house prices would fall after a vote for Brexit. Mark Carney, the Bank’s governor, supported these claims “in terms”, he said. |
| Martin, a longstanding critic of the EU, attacked Paul Johnson, the director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, for saying it was a given that economists were correct in predicting malign consequences from a vote to leave. | Martin, a longstanding critic of the EU, attacked Paul Johnson, the director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, for saying it was a given that economists were correct in predicting malign 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,” he 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,” he said. |
| Economic surveys since the referendum 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 referendum 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.” | 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, the company 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, the company said consumer confidence and leisure spending were threatened by the referendum result “and we are alert to a potentially tougher trading environment ahead”. |
| Having been proved wrong about the damaging effects of a Brexit vote, Martin said, 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. | Having been proved wrong about the damaging effects of a Brexit vote, Martin said, 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 two’ 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,” he said. | “‘Scare story two’ 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,” he said. |