The leader of Britain's biggest business group has said that the country's economic success depends on it remaining a full member of the EU, after senior Tories revealed that more than 150 of the party's MPs would campaign to leave the union in a referendum.
The warning, from CBI director general John Cridland, came after David Cameron admitted on Friday that he now faced an uphill struggle to convince the British people to remain inside the EU, in the runup to an in/out referendum which he has promised to hold by the end of 2017.
Cridland told the Observer that full membership of the EU boosted British jobs, growth and investment. "The EU is our biggest export market and remains fundamental to our economic future," he said. "Our membership supports jobs, drives growth and boosts our international competitiveness."
He dismissed the idea that the UK economy could be just as successful outside the EU with some form of associate membership status, which some Conservatives advocate. "Alternatives to full membership of the EU simply wouldn't work, leaving us beholden to its rules without being able to influence them. We will continue to press the case for the UK remaining in a reformed European Union."
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