EU Referendum debate: “Britain doesn’t have to be part of the EU to be a successful economy”

Ewan Lamont is the CEO and co-founder of Nottingham based Legendary Games, a company offering online strategy games. In the latest of our ongoing EU Referendum debate series, he outlines the reasons why he will be voting to leave the EU.

I always used to think that whenever we had the referendum on the European Union, I would end up voting to stay in.

Like with an attractive house insurance policy I was sold by the idea of being a member of the EU. But if you pay over the odds for it and it never pays out when you need it, you begin to ask yourself “What’s the point of keeping it?”.

Time after time we are told that the EU is good for Britain: it creates jobs, strengthens our economy and gives us global reach. I assumed that all of that was true.

In theory, the EU is a good idea, as a customs union is designed to make life and commerce for its members easier and safer. If it did any of these things I would be a big supporter but since I started running a business I have found that it doesn’t.

The more I thought about it and the more I tried to run my business, the more I became convinced that Britain should leave.

The truth is we don’t need to be part of the EU to have all of the things that make an economy successful, especially not the British economy. Just look at all the things Britain has going for itself – we have some of the most creative and talented people anywhere in the world, we have a language that is spoken by billions of people and we have the fifth largest economy in the world. None of that is because of the EU. In fact it makes life harder and trading inside the EU more difficult.

Take regulation. Despite the fact that only 6% of UK firms actually export to the EU, all British businesses must comply with EU regulations. Whilst some of these regulations may make sense, many make it harder for British businesses to grow and take on more staff. Changes to VAT laws, for example, mean that we and up to 460,000 other SMEs in the UK will now be affected by a rule that requires them to charge and account for VAT in each of the 28 member states where they sell to, rather than just the one they sell from. This is an admin nightmare and has stopped us selling direct to EU countries, if we left the EU we could resume selling directly again.

It is easier for us to trade with non EU customers from the USA. What sort of customs union makes you pay a large membership fee to actively impede you trading with the other members? This and other forms of regulation cost over £600 million every week.

But it’s not just regulation. By giving away our ability to negotiate trade deals with other countries, British businesses miss out on opportunities to secure relationships in China, India and other emerging markets. As the owner of a global, software company the EU makes my life harder rather than easier.

But is doesn’t have to be this way. Outside the EU Britain would be like any other country – free to negotiate our own trade arrangements but also being in control of the laws we pass. We could keep those sensible regulations and reject those that aren’t, saving British businesses millions of pounds a week.

The referendum on Thursday 23rd June is a choice between staying inside a country called Europe that is failing, or re-joining the rest of the world and succeeding as an independent nation. I will be voting for the second option and voting to leave the EU.