OPINION CHAMBER LINK


THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF GREATER BIRMINGHAM CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE


EDITOR’S VIEW


BY JOHN LAMB A Sutton Coldfield


Chamber of Commerce


contributor to the BBC’s Today programme claimed that the forthcoming referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU represented the biggest decision the country has faced since the Reformation.


Whether the series of events in 16th-century England, through which the Church of England


broke away from the authority of the Roman Catholic Church, were less important than EU membership is debatable. However, the UK will be asked to decide and the favourite month for the vote is September, which is why the Chamber is ensuring that local businesses are fully informed on both sides of the debate. How appropriate then, that ex-Government Whip Gyles Brandreth should be addressing the question of Britain’s EU referendum at the Chamber’s forthcoming dinner. As more information becomes available, the Chamber will hold a number of events with a


view to ensuring that members have the opportunity to discuss the issue with key figures and also to facilitate meaningful discussion on the topic. The modern-day EU is almost unrecognisable from when the United Kingdom entered the


European Economic Community under the Conservative government of Edward Heath – and voters will have to weigh the trials and tribulations that have befallen the EU since then. Though the original aim of realising the hypothetical benefits of an ever closer union


between European nations still exists, there have been many criticisms levelled at the EU. Not the least of those is an overly bureaucratic stance and befuddled political issues which


have been too often at odds with the autonomy of member states. In fact, it was general dissatisfaction with the Union that led to the Conservative Party


Connecting you to opportunity


FRONT COVER New patron: Selim Ozturk (left), general manager of Turkish Airlines in Birmingham, with Chamber chief executive Paul Faulkner. See page 14


EDITOR John Lamb 0121 607 1781, 0797 1144064 j.lamb@birmingham-chamber.com


DEPUTY EDITOR Sue Cooke 0121 607 1782, 0797 1144059 s.cooke@birmingham-chamber.com


You can now read the latest issue of CHAMBERLINK and view back issues online at: www.birmingham-chamber.com


promising in their 2015 General Election manifesto a referendum. This spawned several lobby groups, including the ‘In’ campaign, Britain Stronger in Europe


and the two ‘out’ campaigns, Vote Leave and Leave.EU. They had varying degrees of success when they introduced themselves to the British public. Britain Stronger in Europe is fronted by Lord Stewart Rose and has the backing of high


profile business figures such as Baroness Karren Brady and Richard Reed. Vote Leave is supported by UKIP MP Douglas Carswell and Labour MP Kate Hoey. Leave.Eu has Nigel Farage as its frontman and is being financially supported by Arron Banks. In November 2015 David Cameron set out the details of his negotiation package which is


made up of four key proposals. The first involves granting protection for non-eurozone member states from rule changes agreed by a majority of EU members which also requires recognition that the EU has more than one currency. The second aim is to make the single market more ‘competitive’ by cutting red tape and the


third exempts Britain from the ‘ever closer union’ tenet on which the European Union is built. The fourth, and most divisive, is limiting the rights of newly-arrived immigrants to the UK to


claim benefits for four years. Should the UK vote be again membership, the earliest possible leaving date would be 2019.


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In the meantime look out for the Chamber’s first EU debate, possibly next month. Turn to page 33 to find out more about the Chamber’s annual dinner


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BIRMINGHAM CHAMBER PATRONS


4 CHAMBERLINK FEBRUARY 2016


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