Danny Alexander leaving the EU would be catastrophic

We saw Defence Secretary Philip Hammond give Nick Clegg a hard time on the Snoopers' Charter the other day. Now our own Danny Alexander has given Hammond and Michael Gove something to think about by trashing their view on leaving the EU. It is a measure of how much the media have got used to Coalition that this isn't being played up as a huge split. It's accepted that there are radical differences in approach between the two parties on certain issues. It would be nice to think that this would lead to more intelligent public debate between members of the same party without the papers screaming "Split…" but we won't hold our breath on that one.

Danny was talking to Reuters about the economy and the EU. He said that if Britain were to leave the EU, we'd be in the same position as Norway:

Look at the Norwegians for example, where in order to maintain access to the single market they basically receive the new rules on the fax machine from Brussels and they have to implement them without changing them.

On the subject of an EU referendum, Danny was pretty scathing of the Conservative position:

It's not only irresponsible it is completely wrong to be saying actually of all times now is the time to be contemplating leaving Europe when we've got this wonderful opportunity to lead in Europe.

Arguments about calling a referendum on British withdrawal, sort of apropos of nothing, are a huge distraction. Britain leaving the EU would be catastrophic at every level - for our economy, for our ability to attract investment, for trade, for jobs and for political influence.

You can read the whole interview here.

It's supposed to be a holiday week, but Liberal Democrat ministers have been very visible. We've had Nick ace his Call Clegg session, Vince talking about immigration and women in business, and Jo talking about the importance of giving the right messages to kids on appearance and body image.

As well as his Reuters interview, Danny gave a speech to the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce on the principles behind the Government's economic policy and progress to date. He emphasised key Liberal Democrat themes. Yes, he used that "stronger economy, fairer society phrase and talked about tackling tax avoidance, infrastructure investment and the need to rebalance the economy so that the whole country, not just the south east of England, benefits. He sees HS2 as a critical part of this straregy:

In fact, I'd like to use this opportunity to thank the Chamber of Commerce for its support on HS2.

We know that this project has caused some political controversy.

But I can reassure you, that delivering HS2 is another of those tough decisions that we will stick to.

It will connect eight of our biggest cities once it opens, re-shaping the UK's economic geography in the process, and support 100 000 jobs across the nation.

On tackling tax avoidance, he said:

But nothing makes people angrier than the fact there are still some businesses that seem to think they should be able to get away without paying their fair share of tax.

That anger is justified.

When everyone else in this country is making a contribution to dealing with the deficit, our message to the small minority of companies that seek to dodge paying their fair share is clear.

Aggressive tax avoidance and evasion are wrong at the best of times, but in times like this they are totally unacceptable.

And the government, on behalf of the British people, will not tolerate it.

Tackling this problem has been a big priority for me since I joined the Treasury. And we have made a lot of progress.

Closing loopholes, clamping down on offshore havens, investing more in HMRC to raise an extra £9bn a year by 2015.

We have put tougher global rules to counter tax avoidance at the top of the agenda for our G8 presidency this year.

There was more to do, he said, including the action to stop offshore payrolls that he announced at Scottish Conference in March.

You can read his whole wide-ranging speech here.

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