A British exit from the European Union would put pressure on sterling, Prime Minister David Cameron will warn on Thursday in a speech outlining the potential costs of voting to leave the bloc in a June referendum.
Cameron will make the remarks in a campaign speech as he tries to convince Britons to vote to remain inside the 28-country EU, countering claims from those wanting to leave who say Britain would recover quickly from the shock of an exit.
“Let’s just remember what a shock really means,” he will say according to advance extracts of his speech reported in local media. “It means pressure on the pound sterling. It means jobs being lost. It means mortgage rates might rise. It means businesses closing. It means hardworking people losing their livelihoods.”
Those comments will stand in stark contract to the assessment made by London Mayor Boris Johnson, who has come out in support of Brexit. Johnson has said that leaving the EU will cause “an initial period of dislocation and uncertainty,” but that would be followed by “very rapid improvement.”
The pound hit a seven-year low against the dollar last month over worries about a British exit.
(Reporting by William James; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)
