DAVID Cameron has said the government might not be able to protect spending on pensions, the NHS and defence in the long term if the United Kingdom leaves the European Union.
The prime minister said Brexit could cause a “black hole” in the public finances and threaten the “triple lock” guaranteeing state pension increases.
He told Andrew Marr “our economy would be smaller” if the UK left the single market leading to “difficult choices”.
Vote Leave said it was “a frantic attempt to rescue a failing campaign”.
With less than a fortnight to go before the referendum on the UK’s EU membership on 23 June, other developments include:
On the penultimate weekend before the crunch vote, Mr Cameron has used a series of newspaper articles and a BBC interview to warn of the financial consequences of Brexit, saying it could put at risk ring-fenced future funding for public services.
He said forecasts from the Institute for Fiscal Studies suggested Brexit could lead to a shortfall in the public finances of between £20billion and £40billion, which would need to be “filled” – either by tax rises, extra borrowing or spending cuts.
