A day after the CBI gave its reluctant endorsement to Theresa May's withdrawal deal with the EU, a group of young entrepreneurs hit back.
We the undersigned call on the CBI to advise parliament to reject the government’s deal. The CBI should describe the government’s deal for what it is: a deal which will create a worse business climate than what we currently enjoy.
The deal's negative implications for British business are clear. Our parliament must honour British traditions of free-trading economic outreach and reject this deal which would foreclose future prosperity.
We as young entrepreneurs, up and coming trade union leaders, and apprentices, aspire to the same heights of success for ourselves and our countrymen as those atop the CBI and the government have achieved.
Our aim is a prosperous, aspirational business environment in which our firms can grow and create jobs. The acceptance of this deal would represent a serious setback in our efforts to achieve this aim.
British business has benefited from our membership of the EU. We have had the ability to set standards and influence regulation. Under the economic framework this deal sets out, our businesses would face a growth-averse regulatory climate in which they would have to abide by EU regulations over which British voters and policymakers would have no say.
In private, many business leaders concede that this deal will reduce Britain’s prospects for sustained economic growth and further entrench social mobility issues. We are speaking out now because young British business people feel the best interests of our economy rest on the rejection of this deal. This deal is simply not good enough for the future of our firms, which collectively employ thousands.
The CBI's purpose is to "help business create a more prosperous society". Prosperous societies are characterised by governments which plan for the future and enable job-creators to build flexible, outward-looking businesses to adapt to a changing economic landscape.
This deal would curtail the success of our firms, the careers of those we employ, and our chances of contributing to British growth for decades to come.
Given that this deal is not good enough for British businesses, we support a People's Vote on the final Brexit deal, with an option to Remain.
SIGNED
- Praful Nargund, founder and CEO, CREATE Fertility – CREATE Fertility is the fastest-growing IVF company in the UK.
- Grace Beverley, founder and influencer, Grace Fit UK – Grace Fit’s fitness and fashion business have earned her more than 900,000 Instagram followers and 444,000 YouTube subscribers.
- Smruti Sriram, CEO of Supreme Creations – Supreme Creations is the number one global ethical manufacturer of reusable bags by market share and volume.
- Sheena Amin – Director, UKTV – Sheena is the international business development manager for UKTV, a multi-channel broadcaster co-owned by Discovery Inc. and the BBC, and one of the biggest TV companies in the UK.
- Nate Wilde, co-founder, AfterJam – The AfterJam collective is the top youth-oriented British snow sports industry brand, with business divisions including ski manufacturing, athlete sponsorship, and the UK’s biggest snowsports event.
- Adam Flanagan, founder, Future18 – Future18 is the leading company focussed on facilitating young entrepreneurship in Northern Ireland.
- Rosh Mahtani, founder and Designer, Alighieri – Rosh was listed on the Forbes ‘30 under 30’ for European Art & Culture. Her jewelry business uses designs inspired by Dante Alighieri’s ‘Divine Comedy.’
- William McQuillan, founder and partner, Frontline Ventures – Frontline is a cutting-edge early-stage venture capital firm with offices in Dublin and London.
- Marine Tanguy, founder and CEO, MT Art Agency – the MT Art Agency is a leading fund and management team supporting rising visual artists.
- Ed Hollands, CEO, DrivenMedia – ‘Young Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist’ Ed Hollands leads Driven Media, an advertising agency which won £30,000 on the Dragon’s Den TV show.
- Matteo Bergamini, founder and CEO, Shout Out UK – Shout Out UK is the UK’s platform for facilitating discussion about politics by and for young people.
- Gurjinder Dhaliwal, Management Consultant, Deloitte – Deloitte is the largest technical services firm in the world.
- Emily Rose Scott, Founder of Guide the Wild – Guide the Wild a sustainable publishing start up.
- Poppy Drummond, a Senior PR Professional, Farrer Kane – Communications agency Farrer Kane specialises in brand management.
- Harry Bush, secretary, Oxford Entrepreneurs – Oxford Entrepreneurs is the largest student society promoting student entrepreneurship in the world.
- Lucy Marsden, Senior Social Media and Content Executive, Joules – Joules is a publicly traded clothing and homewear company and the top UK family lifestyle brand.
- James Buckley-Thorp, founder, Rupert and Buckley – Rupert and Buckley is an international multi-million pound clothing brand.
- Dannan O'Meachair, Co-Founder Evezy – Evezy provides an inclusive single-payment monthly subscription service for electric car access.
- Ash Carroll-Millar, CEO, Access Fertility – Access Fertility is a leading specialist fertility clinic offering the UK's first refund-based IVF financing option.
- Leo Mercier, co-founder of Crowdform? – Crowdform is a multidisciplinary website, ap, and marketing campaign digital design agency.
- Ewan Collinge, co-founder of Crowdform – Crowdform is a multidisciplinary website, ap, and marketing campaign digital design agency.
- Zack Nathan, founder, Ape Snacks – Ape Snacks is a healthy snacking corporation which Zack founded after graduating from college and recently sold to investors.
- William Sarhangian, Founder of First Demolition Service Ltd – First Demolition Services is a rapidly growing demolition and soft strip company operating throughout England.
- Stuart McDonald, entrepreneur – Stuart founded a leading services company.
- James-Augustine Foley, investment banker – James-Augustine is an investment banker for a global investment bank headquartered in the UK.
- Joshua Neilly, founder and CEO, Fat Fish Marketing – Fat Fish Marketing is an advertising consultancy in Newry, Northern Ireland which reached seven-figure turnover in its first year of operations.
- Jacob Wedderburn-Day, CEO of Stasher – Stasher is a global luggage storage network.
- Gurdas Singh, Account Executive, Slapsticka Media – Slapsticka offers innovative advertising opportunities through targeted campaigns in and on taxis.
- Amy Mackle, founder and CEO, Amy Mackle Ceramics – Amy Mackle Ceramics is a leading porcelain design shop in Northern Ireland.
- Callum Hawthorne, Operations Manager for Systems and Efficiency, RDH Coaches – RDH Coaches is the leading coach and mini-bus supplier in Sussex.
- Edward Hughes, Senior Consultant, major consulting firm – Edward works for a top-tier Fortune 500 global consulting company.
- Liam Conlon, Strategy Consultant, PwC – Pricewaterhousecoopers is a top-tier provider of global advisory services on matters including tax and consultancy.
- Paul Somerville, founder and CEO, Somerville Media – Somerville Media is a communications and social media consultancy operating in the Northeast England media market.
- Gauthier van Malderen, founder and CEO, Perlego – Perlego is an online subscription-based e-textbook library with over 200,000 academic books, articles and journals.
- Jamie Atkins, assistant manager, Bristol Cycling Supplies – Bristol Cycling Supplies is an all-service bike shop in Bristol with a warehousing operation.
- Emma Hobday, general manager, Montage Theatre Arts – Montage Theatre arts is a Southeast London performing arts charity which works with all ages, aiming to provide classes and other programming in deprived areas.
- Simranjeet Riyat, data scientist and inventor – Simranjeet’s innovative work with data science and artificial intelligence has garnered him acclaim in the tech world.
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