Brexit Campaign Leaflet Draws Fire From Several Companies
June 16 2016 - 8:56AM
Dow Jones News
By Simon Zekaria
LONDON--A clutch of multinationals, including General Electric
Co., Unilever PLC and Airbus Group SE, are protesting the use of
their corporate names and logos on promotional leaflets sent by
campaigners pushing for Britain to leave the European Union.
As a June 23 referendum here on whether to remain in the bloc
approaches, polls indicate a tight race. That has led to an
intensifying battle between both sides for the backing of big
businesses or prominent businesspeople.
For many executives, the vote is a crucial one. Several big
companies--based both in the U.K. and elsewhere--have stepped up
their public support for a vote to remain in the EU. Executives
have warned a "leave" vote could cause widespread uncertainty over
everything from trade tariffs for British imports and exports to
hiring and investment plans in the U.K.
Leave campaigners, meanwhile, have won the endorsement of
several big British business figures and many smaller U.K. firms.
They have championed a Britain unencumbered by EU regulations and
other ties that they say hold British business back.
Late Wednesday, senior executives at Airbus, GE, and Unilever
complained to Vote Leave, the lead campaigning group advocating a
vote for an exit, that their corporate names and logos were being
inappropriately used for "propaganda purposes," implying those
companies were advocating a British exit from the bloc, or
"Brexit."
Vote Leave has been designated by the government as the official
group to represent the camp for leaving the EU. As such, it
receives some government funding to support its campaign.
On a page of the Vote Leave leaflet, and under the heading,
"Would jobs be at risk?," the logos of the three companies are
displayed, along with those of car makers Toyota Motor Corp.,
Nissan Motor Co. and General Motors Co.'s British unit
Vauxhall.
"EU regulations make it harder for British firms to hire staff.
Major employers like Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Unilever, GE and Airbus
have all said they'll stay in the U.K. whatever the result of the
referendum," the leaflet said. Few companies--big or small--have
threatened to leave the U.K. altogether in the event of a vote to
leave.
Executives for some the companies listed in the pamphlet
complained it made it appear they were backing Brexit.
Unilever Chief Executive Paul Polman, Mark Elborne, GE's chief
for the U.K. and Ireland, and Paul Kahn, president of Airbus in the
U.K., wrote in a joint letter that the leaflets--sent to tens of
millions of voters in the U.K.--are an "act of bad faith towards
our companies."
The executives wrote the leaflet is "highly misleading" and
distorts their companies' official position of being in favor of
Britain remaining in the EU. The letter continued: "We believe
that--for jobs and investment--Britain is better off in
Europe."
A representative for Vote Leave didn't respond to request for
comment.
A spokeswoman for Vauxhall said separately the leaflet countered
the company's position of favoring Britain remaining in the EU.
"For the U.K. not to be part of the EU would be undesirable for
our business and the sector as a whole," the spokeswoman said.
Toyota and Nissan weren't immediately available for comment.
Write to Simon Zekaria at simon.zekaria@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 16, 2016 08:41 ET (12:41 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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