Virgin’s Richard Branson and Innocent founder Richard Reed front Stay in Europe campaign
Virgin founder Richard Branson and Innocent Drinks co-founder Richard Reed are among a raft of famous entrepreneurs to front a cross-party campaign to keep Britain in Europe.
The business luminaries are joined by West Ham FC’s vice chairmain Karren Brady amd EasyJet chief executive Carolyn McCall to help galvanise support for the “remain” vote ahead of a referendum due by 2017. The famous faces appear alongside students, business owners and former policemen in a video highlighting how an “out” vote could impact the economy, security and leadership for the worse.
The video is hosted on Youtube, while there is also activity on Facebook and Twitter. Supporters can also sign up to be part of the campaign, receiving email updates for a raft of editorial content being produced around it.
Former boss of Marks and Spencer and Conservative peer Stuart Rose leads the campaign. "I believe that we are stronger, better off and safer inside Europe than we would be out on our own," Rose is to say at the campaign's launch today (12 October), according to pre-released material.
"To claim that the patriotic course for Britain is to retreat, withdraw and become inward looking is to misunderstand who we are as a nation," he continued. "I will not allow anyone to tell me I'm any less British because I believe in the strongest possible Britain for business, for our security and our society."
Rose, who is currently the chairman of Ocado, FatFace and Oasis Dental Care, is tipped to focus on championing the business case for staying an EU member. He will go head to head with fellow Tory member of the House of Lords, former chancellor Lord Lawson, who is spearheading the Conservative campaign to exit the EU.
The “BritainStronger in Europe” squares up against the rival “Leave EU’ push, which is backed by UKIP leader Nigel Farage and launched last month. A third campaign, Business for Britain, trumpets the economic benefits of being part of Europe.
The campaign follows the meeting between prime minister David Cameron and German chancellor Angela Merkel, where the Conservative leader discussed his renegotiation strategy.