Rupert Murdoch gives his verdict on 'wonderful' Brexit

Billionaire media mogul says decision to leave the EU is like a 'prison break'

Wednesday 29 June 2016 09:28 BST

News Corporation founder, chairman and CEO, Rupert Murdoch (Getty Images)

Rupert Murdoch has declared the Brexit result of the EU referendum “wonderful” and compared the decision to withdraw from the European Union as like “a prison break….we’re out”.

The Eurosceptic media mogul and News Corp boss is known for airing his views on Twitter, but kept uncharacteristically quiet about his views in the run-up to the referendum.

But his newspaper The Sun, one of Britain's most-read papers, urged its readers to vote for a Brexit in a front page anti-EU editorial 10 days before the EU referendum, while The Times took an opposing pro-EU stance.

6 ways Britain leaving the EU will affect you

Show all 6

1/66 ways Britain leaving the EU will affect you

6 ways Britain leaving the EU will affect you

More expensive foreign holidays

The first practical effect of a vote to Leave is that the pound will be worth less abroad, meaning foreign holidays will cost us more

nito100

6 ways Britain leaving the EU will affect you

No immediate change in immigration status

The Prime Minister will have to address other immediate concerns. He is likely to reassure nationals of other EU countries living in the UK that their status is unchanged. That is what the Leave campaign has said, so, even after the Brexit negotiations are complete, those who are already in the UK would be allowed to stay

Getty

6 ways Britain leaving the EU will affect you

Higher inflation

A lower pound means that imports would become more expensive. This is likely to mean the return of inflation – a phenomenon with which many of us are unfamiliar because prices have been stable for so long, rising at no more than about 2 per cent a year. The effect may probably not be particularly noticeable in the first few months. At first price rises would be confined to imported goods – food and clothes being the most obvious – but inflation has a tendency to spread and to gain its own momentum

AFP/Getty Images

6 ways Britain leaving the EU will affect you

Interest rates might rise

The trouble with inflation is that the Bank of England has a legal obligation to keep it as close to 2 per cent a year as possible. If a fall in the pound threatens to push prices up faster than this, the Bank will raise interest rates. This acts against inflation in three ways. First, it makes the pound more attractive, because deposits in pounds will earn higher interest. Second, it reduces demand by putting up the cost of borrowing, and especially by taking larger mortgage payments out of the economy. Third, it makes it more expensive for businesses to borrow to expand output

Getty

6 ways Britain leaving the EU will affect you

Did somebody say recession?

Mr Carney, the Treasury and a range of international economists have warned about this. Many Leave voters appear not to have believed them, or to think that they are exaggerating small, long-term effects. But there is no doubt that the Leave vote is a negative shock to the economy. This is because it changes expectations about the economy’s future performance. Even though Britain is not actually be leaving the EU for at least two years, companies and investors will start to move money out of Britain, or to scale back plans for expansion, because they are less confident about what would happen after 2018

AFP/Getty Images

6 ways Britain leaving the EU will affect you

And we wouldn’t even get our money back

All this will be happening while the Prime Minister, whoever he or she is, is negotiating the terms of our future access to the EU single market. In the meantime, our trade with the EU would be unaffected, except that companies elsewhere in the EU may be less interested in buying from us or selling to us, expecting tariff barriers to go up in two years’ time. Whoever the Chancellor is, he or she may feel the need to bring in a new Budget

Getty Images

He finally gave his verdict on Brexit at a Times CEO summit on Tuesday evening. In comments reported by The Times, Murdoch told the invite-only audience of business leaders a “momentous decision” was made last week, adding: “[Brexit] was a bit like prison break…we’re out.”

Murdoch, 85, also had a warning for leadership contender Boris Johnson in the wake of anger after Nigel Farage disowned a Leave pledge to spend £350 million of European Union cash on the NHS after Brexit: “If he backtracks on serious things there could be another bloody revolt.”

Other high-profile figures celebrating the result include Liz Hurley, Katie Hopkins, Joan Collins and Donald Trump. Mr Trump made his feelings clear on Brexit almost immediately after the result while in Scotland, where he claimed voters “took back control of their country” and promised strong ties between an independent Britain and a Trump Administration.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

US EditionChange

Thank you for registering

Rupert Murdoch gives his verdict on 'wonderful' Brexit

Billionaire media mogul says decision to leave the EU is like a 'prison break'

Thanks for signing up to the
Brexit and beyond email

6 ways Britain leaving the EU will affect you

6 ways Britain leaving the EU will affect you

More expensive foreign holidays

6 ways Britain leaving the EU will affect you

No immediate change in immigration status

6 ways Britain leaving the EU will affect you

Higher inflation

6 ways Britain leaving the EU will affect you

Interest rates might rise

6 ways Britain leaving the EU will affect you

Did somebody say recession?

6 ways Britain leaving the EU will affect you

And we wouldn’t even get our money back

Join our commenting forum