Britain should vote to leave the “flawed and failing” European Union, the former Conservative leader Michael Howard has said.

He becomes one of the most senior Tories to reject David Cameron’s EU reform deal.

Lord Howard challenged a series of dire warnings from ministers about the dangers of Britain leaving the EU by saying that, as the world’s fifth largest economy, Britain should have the confidence to negotiate a strong deal.



“It is in everybody’s interests to have an agreement that would enable each of us to have access to the others’ markets,” the former Tory leader said as he ridiculed claims that Britain would be forced to follow the example of Norway after a no vote. Oslo has to pay a subscription and accept free movement as the price for access to the single market.

We are the fifth largest economy in the world. Everybody wants access to our market Michael Howard

In an interview with the Today programme on BBC Radio 4, Howard said: “Norway is a country of 5 million people, we are a country of 65 million people. We won’t have a Norwegian-style agreement with the EU, we’ll have a British agreement with the EU. We need a bit of self-belief and national confidence.

“We are a great country, we are the fifth largest economy in the world. Everybody wants access to our market. We won’t be supplicants. We will have a sensible agreement with the EU which would give their countries access to our market and would give us access to theirs.”

To the surprise of listeners, Sarah Montague, the Today presenter, asked Howard if David Cameron would be calling him a “bastard”, the word that Sir John Major used to refer to Eurosceptic members of his cabinet in 1993. The former prime minister was reportedly referring to Howard, Peter Lilley and Michael Portillo at the time.

“That has always been in doubt actually as to whether I was one of them but perhaps that is not an issue we want to go into this morning,” Howard said of Major’s remarks. Asked whether Cameron would use similar language, Howard said: “That is something you’d have to ask him about.”

Howard, who came out in favour of Brexit in an article in the Daily Telegraph, described the EU as an outdated model. “It tries to impose a rigid straitjacket of uniformity on countries as different as Finland and Greece. That is why it is a flawed and failing project.”

David Cameron warns Brexit could cost jobs and force up prices Read more

In a blow to the prime minister, who worked for Howard during his time as home secretary in the mid 1990s, the former Tory leader questioned Cameron’s claim that a second referendum after a no vote was “for the birds”.

The prime minister has dismissed the idea of a second referendum, which Boris Johnson has supported as a way of renegotiating new terms, by saying he would begin exit negotiations immediately after a vote to leave. Cameron could act on 24 June, the day after the referendum, by triggering the exit mechanism in article 50 of the Lisbon treaty at an EU summit in Brussels.

Howard called for a pause of about a month after a vote to leave to allow the EU to reconsider the current deal. “It is quite likely that during that month they would say let’s talk some more, let’s see if we can reach a different agreement and perhaps you could have a second referendum. If after a month or so they don’t, then article 50 would have to be triggered and the negotiations to leave would begin.”

The Britain Stronger in Europe group dismissed Howard’s claim that a second referendum could be held. A spokesperson said: “Michael Howard simply is wrong to claim that voting to leave Europe could lead to Britain getting a better deal. There is simply no prospect of Britain securing further reform from outside the EU. Once we are out, we are out. The decision is irreversible and would automatically trigger the legal process of leaving the EU as set out in the treaties.”

In a sign of the depth of divisions in the Tory party, George Osborne said a UK exit from the EU would deliver a profound economic shock to the UK. Speaking to the BBC in Shanghai, where he is meeting fellow G20 finance ministers, the chancellor said it was the “very worst time” to take the “enormous economic gamble” of a vote to leave.