Endorsements in the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum
A number of politicians, public figures, newspapers and magazines, businesses and other organisations endorsed an official position during the United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, 2016.
Remain
Registered political parties
- Alliance Party of Northern Ireland[1][2]
- Green Party of England and Wales[3]
- Green Party in Northern Ireland[4]
- Labour Party[5]
- Liberal Democrats[6]
- NI21[7]
- Plaid Cymru[8]
- Scottish National Party (SNP)[9][10]
- Scottish Green Party[11]
- Scottish Socialist Party[12]
- Sinn Féin[13]
- Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP)[14]
Business leaders
- Victor Blank, former chairman of Lloyds Bank, philanthropist.[15]
- Marc Bolland, businessman and current CEO of Marks & Spencer.[16]
- Karren Brady (Baroness Brady); sporting executive, TV personality, columnist, author.[17]
- Sir Richard Branson; entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist.[18]
- Lloyd Dorfman, founder of Travelex.[15]
- Tom Enders; CEO of the Airbus Group.[19]
- Sir Philip Green, CEO of Arcadia Group.[15]
- António Horta-Osório; CEO of the Lloyds Banking Group.[20]
- Sir George Iacobescu, CEO of the Canary Wharf Group.[15]
- Ian Livingston, Baron Livingston of Parkhead, former CEO of the BT Group.[15]
- Michael O'Leary; CEO of the Ryanair.[19]
- Deborah Meaden; businesswoman and TV personality.[21]
- Michael Sherwood, vice chairman of Goldman Sachs.[15]
- Sir Martin Sorrell, CEO of WPP plc.[22]
- Alan Sugar (Lord Sugar); business magnate, media personality, and political advisor.[23]
Other notable individuals/celebrities
- Neil Faulkner, historian and archaeologist[24]
- Owen Jones, writer, columnist and political activist[25]
- Houzan Mahmoud, Kurdish activist[24]
- Michael Mansfield, barrister and political activist[26]
- Richard Murphy, economist and tax campaigner[24]
- Ann Pettifor, economist[24]
- Kate Smurthwaite, comedian[24]
- Steve Turner, trade unionist[24]
- Zoe Williams, journalist and writer[24]
Politicians
- Within the Conservative Party (which is officially netural): the Prime Minister and most Ministers, specifically: David Cameron (Prime Minister),[27] Philip Hammond (Foreign Secretary),[28] Jeremy Hunt (Health Secretary)[29] Michael Fallon (Defence Secretary),[30] Sajid Javid (Business Secretary),[31] Theresa May (Home Secretary),[32] Patrick McLoughlin (Transport Secretary),[33] Nicky Morgan (Education Secretary),[33] David Mundell (Secretary of State for Scotland),[34] George Osborne (Chancellor),[35] and Liz Truss (Environment Secretary).[33] Others include former Prime Minister John Major,[36] former party leader William Hague,[37] former Deputy Prime Minister Michael Heseltine,[38] Damian Green, David Willetts[39] and former Chancellor of the Exchequer Ken Clarke.[40] The group Conservatives for Reform in Europe was founded by Nick Herbert, Eric Pickles, Caroline Spelman, Guto Bebb, Simon Burns, James Cartlidge, Jo Churchill, Damian Collins, Edward Garnier, Mark Garnier, Dominic Grieve, Stephen Hammond, Simon Hart, Oliver Heald, Kevin Hollinrake, Nigel Huddleston, Jeremy Lefroy, Bob Neill, Victoria Prentis, Mark Prisk, Jeremy Quin, Gary Streeter.[41] Other MPs supporting the 'Remain' campaign include Mark Lancaster,[42]
- Among independents: Sylvia Hermon (MP for North Down)[43]
International figures
- Michael Froman, United States Trade Representative.[44]
- John Kerry, United States Secretary of State (Democrat)[45]
- Christine Lagarde, Head of the International Monetary Fund.[19]
- Pier Carlo Padoan, Italian Minister of Economy and Finances.[46]
- Donald Tusk, President of the European Council.[47]
- Gianni Pittella MEP, chair of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats.[47]
- Rebecca Harms MEP, co-chair of the The Greens–European Free Alliance.[47]
- Guy Verhofstadt MEP, chair of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Group.[47]
Businesses
- Airbus Group, plane manufacturing company.[19]
- Asda, supermarket.[20]
- BAE Systems, defence contractor.[48]
- BT Group, telecommunications.[20]
- Diageo, alcoholic beverages.[49]
- easyJet, airline.[49]
- Marks & Spencer, supermaket.[20]
- Rio Tinto, mining.[48]
- Shell, oil company.[20]
Newspapers and magazines
Local Government authorities
- Leicester City Council[52] (Labour controlled)
- London Assembly[53] (No overall control)
Organisations
- Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community[54]
- GMB (trade union)[55]
- National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts[24]
- Trades Union Congress[56]
Leave
Registered political parties
- Britain First[citation needed]
- British National Party (BNP)[57]
- Democratic Unionist Party (DUP)[58][59]
- Independence from Europe[60]
- Respect Party[61]
- Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition[62]
- Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV)[63]
- UK Independence Party (UKIP)[64]
Business leaders
- Duncan Bannatyne, entrepreneur, philanthropist and author.[65]
- James Dyson; founder of Dyson.[66]
- Peter Hargreaves; co-founder of Hargreaves Lansdown[67]
- Digby Jones; former Director General of the Confederation of British Industry.[68]
- Tim Martin, founder of Wetherspoons[19]
Other notable individuals/celebrities
- Sir Michael Caine; actor.[69]
- Dame Joan Collins; actress.[70]
- Katie Hopkins; TV personality and newspaper columnist.[71]
- Julia Hartley-Brewer; broadcaster and journalist.[72]
- The Rev. Giles Fraser; Priest of the Church of England, and journalist.[73]
- Julian Fellowes (Lord Fellowes); actor, novelist, film director and screenwriter.[74]
Politicians
- Within the Conservative Party (which is officially netural): Six Cabinet members: Michael Gove, Iain Duncan Smith, John Whittingdale, Chris Grayling, Theresa Villiers and Priti Patel; The current Mayor of London Boris Johnson;[75][76][77] the Conservative candidate for the 2016 mayoral election, Zac Goldsmith;[78] former leader Michael Howard,[79] former Defence Secretary Liam Fox[80] and the leader of the Welsh Conservative Party Andrew R.T. Davies.[81] The party campaign to exit the EU is "Conservatives for Britain" which is headed by Lord Lawson (Nigel Lawson) and Lord Lamont (Norman Lamont),[82] with Daniel Hannan, David Campbell-Bannerman, Lord Tebbit (Norman Tebbit),[83] Sir William Cash, Peter Bone, Philip Davies, Bernard Jenkin,[84] Owen Paterson,[85] Christopher Davies,[86] David Jones,[86] James Davies,[86] Steve Baker, Christopher Chope,[87] Chris Heaton-Harris,[88] former deputy leader of UKIP who defected in 2005 Craig Mackinlay, David Davis (MP for Haltemprice and Howden),[89] Stewart Jackson,[90] John Redwood,[91] Iain Stewart,[92] Nadhim Zahawi,[93][94] David T.C. Davies (MP for Monmouth),[95] Tom Pursglove,[96] Philip Hollobone,[97] Jacob Rees-Mogg,[98] Minister of State for Security John Hayes. The Bow Group, a Conservative think-tank, is also lending its support to the Leave.EU campaign.[99]
- Within the Labour Party (which supports Remain): The Labour Party's campaign to leave the EU is Labour Leave. This is headed by donor John Mills. Among Labour Leave MPs are Kate Hoey,[100] Khalid Mahmood,[101] Kelvin Hopkins,[102][103] Roger Godsiff,[104] Frank Field,[105] Graham Stringer.[106] John Cryer[107] and Gisela Stuart [108]
- Within the Green Party (which supports Remain): Member of the House of Lords and London Assembly Member Jenny Jones (Baroness Jones) will campaign to leave.[109][110]
- Lord Owen, currently an independent Social Democrat peer, former Labour Foreign Secretary and leader (and co-founder) of the Social Democratic Party.[111]
International figures
- Marco Rubio, Republican presidential candidate and Senator from Florida[112]
- Ted Cruz, Republican presidential candidate and Senator from Texas
- Jeb Bush, brother of former U.S. President George W. Bush
- Marine Le Pen MEP, leader of the French Front National and co-chair of the Europe of Nations and Freedom.[47]
Businesses
Newspapers and magazines
- Daily Express[114]
- Daily Mail[115]
- Morning Star, also backed a No vote in the 1975 referendum.[116][117]
Local Government authorities
- Havering London Borough Council (Conservative-Residents controlled) became the first council in the UK to back Brexit.[118]
- Bromley London Borough Council (Conservative controlled)[119]
Organisations
- Bakers, Food and Allied Workers' Union[120]
- National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT)[121]
Officially endorse neither side
Registered political parties
Businesses
References
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- ^ [4]
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