UK’s Osborne Warns Voters of Brexit’s Permanent Economic Damage

British finance minister George Osborne told voters that leaving the European Union would do permanent damage to the country’s economy, costing them thousands of pounds a year and sapping funding for public services. In a move immediately challenged by anti-EU campaigners, Osborne pointed to Treasury figures which said breaking away could cost each household 4,300 pounds ($6,100) a year by 2030. Three days after official campaigning began for the EU membership referendum on June 23, Osborne said all alternatives to staying in the union would leave Britain’s economy smaller than would be if it stayed in the world’s biggest trading bloc.