Mark Carney says a n EU Referendum would be bad for the Economy

David Cameron's plans for EU referendum are 'bad for the economy', Mark Carney warns
Governor of the Bank of England says prospect of referendum will create "uncertainty" for businesses and mean that they "hold off" on investment
Mark Carney speaks on the Andrew Marr show
Mark Carney speaks on BBC’s 'The Andrew Marr Show' Photo: BBC/PA
By Steven Swinford, Senior Political Correspondent1:49PM GMT 16 Feb 2014 Comments408 Comments
David Cameron's plans for a referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union are "bad" for the economy and could hamper investment, the governor of the Bank of England has warned.
Mark Carney said that the prospect of a referendum will create "uncertainty" for businesses and mean that they "hold off" on investment.
He compared the referendum, which is due to be held in 2017, to the near collapse of the banks and the financial crisis in the Eurozone.
His intervention is likely to prove embarrassing to Mr Cameron, who has pledged to reform Britain's relationship with the European Union before an in/out referendum in 2017.
Mr Carney said: "Uncertainty is always bad for investment. It increases the value of waiting, and what we've seen over the course of the last five years is businesses, even when they've had cash and had opportunities, they've held off investing."
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However, he said that there was little that the Bank of England could do to ease the concerns of businesses about the referendum.
He said: "The uncertainties that we can influence at the Bank of England is not a European referendum or a Scottish referendum; what we can influence are uncertainties about the financial system - we're very involved in finishing the job of fixing the financial system - and uncertainty about the path of monetary policy."
Mr Carney also reassured homeowners that an interest rates are unlikely to rise in the near future, despite falling unemployment levels.
He said: "And so what we're trying to do to the maximum extent possible is to provide the comfort that we are not going to adjust interest rates until jobs, incomes and spending [recover]."

I think Mr Carney should butt out, his is not a Political role and the population of Britain deserves a vote. The referendum is not scheduled until 2017 so why is he coming out with his comments now.....could Cameron be bending his Ear.???