Brexit campaigners are peddling fantasy economics, says William Hague

'Precise forecasts of the damage that would be done will vary greatly. But economics is more of an art than a science and a successful economy rests above all on confidence'

William Hague delivers a speech to the Conservative party conference (AFP)

William Hague will today accuse Brexit campaigners of peddling fantasy economics by suggesting that leaving the EU will not harm the British economy.

The intervention by Lord Hague, who stepped down as an MP at the general election after 26 years, comes after leading figures in the campaign to leave the EU have suggested Brexit will free up investment for the NHS and other areas.

Lord Hague will say: “The idea that we can leave the EU without any serious economic consequences for jobs and businesses in Britain, and somehow have more money to spend on the NHS and other services at the same time, is a total fantasy, and people need to know that before they vote.

“Precise forecasts of the damage that would be done will vary greatly. But economics is more of an art than a science and a successful economy rests above all on confidence. The greatest risk is that confidence would be seriously undermined. This is not something that can be laughed off by talking of Canada one moment and Albania the next.

“This concerns the job prospects of millions of young people across Britain, and it is not responsible, sensible or rational to jeopardise those — and particularly to do so without any clear plan as to what the alternative to the current arrangements might be.”

Ahead of the speech in London today the former Conservative leader also dismissed the possibility of the Turkey gaining membership of the EU and urged voters not to base their decision on fears about immigration in the upcoming referendum.

“It’s right to have a referendum…this is a profoundly democratic country… there are 35 or so chapters of negotiations between Turkey and the EU and only one or two of them have been closed or settled. Turkish membership of the EU is not on the cards. It is not something how people should be deciding how to vote in this referendum,” the former Foreign Secretary told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

“There aren’t any countries at the moment anywhere near joining the European Union”.

He continued: “We are an imperfect world and many of the choices we make in life, in politics and in government are between the lesser of evils – I’ll be honest about that.

“I remain a critic of the European Union… but you still have to make a cool-headed decision when it comes to leaving it to whether it’s in the interests of people in this country and in the interests of their jobs,”

Asked about immigration and the free movement of people from European countries, the former Tory leader responded: “This is not the issue in which to decide how to vote in this referendum. The Leave campaign have put forward an Australian-style points system… but Australia has higher immigration relative to its population than we do.

He added: “If you use leaving the EU as a means of controlling immigration it affects all those British people who want to live or work or study across the European Union.