Author Description

This book puts forward an objective blue-print on how the UK government should proceed following a referendum which has resulted in an "Out" vote and Her Majesty's Government's triggering of Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty. What measures does the UK need to take in the following two-years, domestically (within the UK), vis-à-vis the remaining EU and internationally, in order to promote a free and prosperous economy?Ben Clements argues that the UK should leave the EU following a referendum vote through (ideally but not necessarily) a negotiated agreement. There are a number of options for future trade and other relations, including membership of EFTA and the EEA but the best would be the Swiss model of EFTA membership plus bilateral Free Trade Agreements. This will open up possibilities for greater openness to the rest of the world and a significant shift in the pattern of world trade. There would be policy responses over a wide range of government policy areas, including trade, fiscal policy, employment and immigration, energy policy, environmental regulation, and taxation.This book was published in 2014 as part of the Institute of Economic Affairs' Brexit Prize competition; the competition was designed to examine the process of withdrawal and, more importantly, how the UK might fit into the fresh geo-political and economic landscape that would follow.