Businessman who quit role over Brexit to speak at University
Monday 20 February 2017
An influential business leader who resigned over his views on Brexit is to give an alumni lecture at the University of Salford.
John Longworth, the former Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce, will give a speech on ‘Globalisation, global debt, Brexit and beyond’ at the University’s Chapman Building on Thursday 23 February.
The businessman resigned from the role in the build up to last year’s European Union Referendum after challenging the BCC’s official position of non-alignment by suggesting that Britain could have a ‘brighter’ future outside the EU.
He went on to lead the business campaign to leave the European Union, chairing the Vote Leave Business Council, accusing then Prime Minister David Cameron of peddling ‘highly irresponsible’ scare stories in order to keep Britain in the EU.
John is now co-chairman of Leave Means Leave – a campaign group formed to ensure that the UK’s exit from the EU is swift, clean and offers maximum benefit for the country.
The businessman, who received a degree in Environmental Sciences from the University, followed by an MSc in Physics by research and was later awarded an honorary PhD in Business Studies by private University BPP, will propose that 17.4m people voted to leave the EU against the backdrop of flawed EU policy, the financial crisis and globalisation.
John has served as an Executive Director on the boards of Asda, Tesco and a major London NHS Trust. He has also served as a non-Executive Director of the Co-operative Food Retail, Nichols plc and of numerous public bodies, and is a member of the Advisory Council of the Institute of Economic Affairs and the Advisory Board of Economists for Free Trade.
He has previously been a board member at the American Chambers of Commerce, the World Chambers Federation and the UK India Business Council and served as a Commissioner for Health and Safety and as a Panel Member of the Competition Commission.
Although the lecture and Q&A session is aimed mainly at the University of Salford’s alumni community a small number of tickets are available to other members of the public who can book here.
John McCarthy, University of Salford Director of Marketing and External Relations, said: “We have a growing and vibrant community of alumni working in a wide range of areas, and we’re delighted to welcome John Longworth as a prominent figure in a very current issue.
“While the University takes a neutral political stance, we are committed to generating debate and creating an environment in which people can share their ideas openly. We recognise this is a contentious subject for some people, which is precisely why we believe it is worthy of intelligent and informed discussion.”
The lecture will be followed by a specially extended period for questions to allow a range of views to be heard.
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