Lloyds chairman says no 'compelling' argument to stay in EU

Lord Blackwell, a former head of the policy unit of Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher and John Major, outlined his personal view in the House of Lords while debating the European Union Referendum Bill on Tuesday.

“I do not agree that remaining in the European Union without a significant change in the current treaty arrangements is ultimately sustainable from a political and constitutional perspective,” he said.

“Nor do I believe that there is a compelling economic argument to override those considerations.”

Lord Blackwell noted that Britain is not and "will never be" part of the single currency zone.

“So the reality is that we cannot be at the heart of a European Union that becomes increasingly focused on the governance and political decision-making of an integrated Eurozone core.”

He noted that most decisions were now being made by a majority vote in the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament

“The UK risks being bound by laws imposed by a political group of which we are not a part and which in many areas has different interests, different legal, social and political traditions and often different attitudes towards free markets.”

But Blackwell said that regardless of whether Britain stays in or leaves the EU, it will still need to work with the UK’s neighbours.

“Unless we seek to negotiate a new relationship and do so with the full understanding on both sides that a significant change is needed, we are unlikely to get an outcome that secures a sustainable position for the UK within the European Union in the longer term.”