‘Brexit could cost a month’s pay’

Leaving the European Union will cost British workers the equivalent of a month’s pay by the end of the decade, a leading international economic body has warned.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said the impact of Brexit would be akin to imposing a tax on UK national income — creating a “persistent and rising cost” to the economy.

The warning came as Chancellor George Osborne said a slowing of economic growth in the first three months of 2016 — down to 0.4% from 0.6% the previous quarter according to the ONS — showed fears of a Leave vote were “weighing on our economy”.

Leave campaigners, however, dismissed the findings, accusing the OECD of protecting its own interests.

The OECD estimates that by 2020 GDP would be more than 3% down on what it would have been if Britain had remained in the EU — the equivalent of £2,200 (€2,825) per household at today’s prices.

Under the OECD’s “central scenario”, by 2030 the loss of GDP would have risen to more than 5% — a loss of £3,200 per household.

In a more pessimistic scenario, however, the costs of leaving would be even higher, rising to £5,000 per household.

“A UK exit would be a major negative shock to the UK economy, with economic fallout in the rest of the OECD, particularly other European countries,” the OECD said.