A1 welcomes Theresa Villiers MP as part of EU Referendum campaigning

In the final push to rally support for the Vote Leave campaign, A1 Flue Systems in Ollerton hosted the Right Hon Theresa Villiers MP and fellow business Brexit backers, urging supporters to take back control of jobs, borders and trade deals in the EU Referendum on 23 June.

Based on Boughton Industrial Estate A1 Flue Systems, hosted a group from Business for Britain, who met Theresa Villiers MP and took a tour of the factory. A1 Director John Hamnett said he was fully behind the campaign to extract businesses from EU bureaucracy saying: “It was a pleasure to host the event because it gave us an opportunity to show Theresa Villiers MP and fellow businesses in favour of leaving the EU why we are so proud our British manufacturing prowess – which is at least a decade ahead of the standards set by the EU.”

Theresa Villiers MP, said: “I am supporting the Leave campaign because I have an optimistic view of our country’s future. I believe we can flourish outside the European Union. We have one of the most successful economies in the world.

“In the six years I spent as an MEP, I worked relentlessly to try to get the best from the EU. That included a two year struggle on the technical detail of the Markets in Financial Instruments directive and other initiatives designed to open up cross border trade in capital and financial services.

“I am not, for a moment, suggesting that we should not cooperate with our European neighbours. But it is possible to do this without taking on the obligations of EU membership which prevent us from taking decisions which are in our own national interest. Leaving the EU would also give us the chance to negotiate our own trade deals with countries around the world such as India, something currently vested directly in the European Commission.”                                                                                                                          

Nigel Baxter, who is regional chairman of Business for Britain East Midlands and owner of RH Commercial Vehicles (which employs 80 people at sites in Alfreton, Nottingham and Leicester) spoke of many SMEs wanting see a fundamental change in the UK’s relationship with the EU and that too much control over the British economy.  

Business for Britain is a campaign run by businesses and aims to give a voice to the business community on the EU referendum. Many businesses, who are key job creators, want to see fundamental reform.

Nigel commented, “A1 employs 140 staff and are an example of the 355,915 business in the East Midlands of which over 99% are SMEs. SMEs in the East Midlands are responsible for 57per cent of employment and 47 per cent of turnover (ONS/BIS, October 2015, link).

“Big businesses do not speak for Britain and do not speak for us in this debate. We’ve seen how the EU damages our economy and we see the prospects outside – more trade, more jobs and higher wages for working people.

“Taking back control” isn’t just a slogan – it means something to millions of people in Britain. It’s about control over the finances – currently we send billions of pounds every year and half of it we never see again.”

There is groundswell of opinion among entrepreneurs and small and medium sized business owners who want to seize the opportunities Britain can find in the world beyond the EU.

The event was one in a series of business events held across the country in the final countdown before the EU Referendum on 23 June 2016, where Business for Britain East Midlands will be talking to local businesses in a last push to make the business case for Britain to leave the EU.