What is it with Tony Blair's obsession of quitting the Single Market and the supposed drawbacks of leaving it? According to the former Labour leader and many of his colleagues, it would be disastrous in the event of a hard Brexit. Yet the evidence suggests the benefits of membership of this large trading bloc are over-exaggerated.

Considering New Labour's period in office resulted in the worst recession since the Second World War, Mr. Blair is hardly proficient on basic economics. The cost of remaining a member of the Single Market is projected at £7 billion net.

40% of EU spending goes towards the controversial Common Agricultural Policy, which leads to high prices for consumers and over-supply.

Membership of the Single Market is tantamount with the eventual EU ambition of creating a single currency in all of its member states, including Britain prior to Brexit. With low records of economic growth, high unemployment in the Mediterranean countries and spending cuts, it is hardly worth being prohibited from forging trade deals with the rest of the globe when Greece's economy has failed to grow in a decade.

Many Remain voters said immigration is not a concern to them during last year's referendum, yet the free movement of labour, a price a country has to pay for Single Market membership, has led to overcrowding in cities, increased congestion on roads and sky-rocketing house prices, causing people born in 1981-2000 (ironically, the generation where EU support was high in last year's referendum) to be barred from entering the property market.

Finally, there's the cost of regulation. The British Chamber of Commerce calculated Single Market bureaucracy adds £7.4 billion of red tape to the economy.

John Redwood MP highlighted that during the Second World War, when the Nazis occupied Europe and banned us from trading with the rest of the continent, our economy continued to grow as Britain is a resilient nation.

As he stressed, he wants to avoid those circumstances, but it is an opportunity for both EU and British politicians to learn from when forging a free trade deal.

So by all means, Mr. Blair, lecture us on how damaging a hard Brexit would be on our economy, yet it can't be anymore severe than remaining a member of the Single Market right now.