George Osborne just unveiled a Brexit doomsday scenario for Britain's economy and personal finances
And on Monday, he released a doomsday scenario in The Times about how the UK will suffer if people vote to leave the EU in the referendum on June 23.
The two key takeaways - if Britain does vote to leave the EU - from Osborne's article are:
- Britons will be £4,300 worse off a year.
- The economy will shrink by 6% by 2030.
In other words, the country will suffer and so will individuals' personal finances.
In Osborne's article in The Times he describes the prospect of Britain leaving the 28-nation bloc as a "self-inflicted wound" (emphasis ours):
The conclusion is clear: for Britain's economy and for families, leaving the EU would be the most extraordinary self-inflicted wound.
The Treasury analysis shows that under all plausible alternatives to British membership of the EU we would have a less open and interconnected economy - not just with Europe but, crucially, with the rest of the world.
There would be less trade, less investment, and less business. Leave the EU, and the facts are: Britain would be permanently poorer. Britain's families would be permanently poorer too.
Put simply: over many years, are you better off or worse off if we leave the EU?
The answer is: Britain would be worse off, permanently so, and to the tune of £4,300 a year for every household.
It is a well-established doctrine of economic thought that greater openness and interconnectedness boosts the productive potential of our economy.
That's because being an open economy increases competition between our companies, making them more efficient in the face of consumer choice, and creates incentives for business to innovate and to adopt new technologies.
Osborne's comments came slightly ahead of a 200-page Treasury report on the predicted effects of Britain leaving the European Union. The reports is set to be released on Monday.