On Wednesday 14th October, British economist Jonathan Portes delivered a lecture to NCS students on the economics of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union.

Since joining HM Treasury in 1987, Mr Portes has held various positions in the civil service and the private sector. He was Chief Economist at the Department for Work and Pensions and Chief Economist at the Cabinet Office before becoming the director of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) in February 2011. Now a Principal Research Fellow at the NIESR, he also writes about the economic climate for numerous publications.

During his talk Mr Portes explained why economics is key to understanding the future EU referendum whilst setting the debate in its historical and political context. Mr Portes skifully went on to analyse the arguments for and against a possible ‘Brexit’ the details of which will give our students both an insight that will benefit their studies, but also some key skills to help them form their own decisions when voting day draws near in 2017.

We would like to thank Mr Portes for taking the time to meet our students.