Sir Richard Branson, Premier League and others unite to back EU remain vote
A host of British business leaders including Sir Richard Branson and all 20 Premier League clubs have issued a joint call for Britain to remain a member of the European Union ahead of a key vote this Thursday.
Speaking on behalf of the top flight football clubs Premier League chair Richard Scudamore said that a vote to exit would be ‘incongruous’ in context of the league’s commitment to ‘openness’.
Branson meanwhile entered the fray by issuing a dire warning of the ‘devastating’ potential impact to UK prosperity by departing but these opinions were predictably batted away by Vote Leave campaigners.
John Longworth, chair of Vote Leave business council, countered that Britain would actually be more affluent in the event of Brexit, saying: “We'd be able to remove the external barriers, reduce the cost of clothing and footwear. Reduce the cost of food products we can't produce in the UK because at the moment the EU puts tariffs up to the rest of the world which we have to pay for.”
Other business chiefs to put their head above the parapet include Diageo chief Ivan Menezes who spoke out in favour of the EU single market, whilst directors at Toyota UK, Vauxhall, Jaguar Land Rover and BMW also lent their support.