Make Your Mark: EU Referendum
GBCC CEO, Paul Faulkner
If you only do one thing today, make sure it’s voting in the EU Referendum.
I won’t be the only one calling on you to vote today. But I’m going issue this call to action because I fundamentally believe that this is the single most important vote of a generation.
I’m a big fan of democracy myself. Every time an election comes around I think about the centuries of action and protest that went in to winning UK adults the right to vote and have a say on how this nation is governed. Since I turned 18 there have been 15 local elections in Birmingham (although I confess – I wasn’t a resident for all of them), 5 national elections and 2 referendums open to local citizens– on the Birmingham Mayor and electoral reform. But none of these votes have, to my memory, been so close or so fundamental to the future of the UK.
Whether you are very pro-remain, actively pro-leave or just have a slight sense that you might want to vote one way or another it’s time to get out and make your mark. This one day will set in motion events that could fundamentally change the UK’s position in the world. And, if the polls are to be believed, the result will be so close that every single vote really will count.
No one wants to be one of those people who doesn’t vote then complains when the result they get isn’t what they would have wanted. Polling stations are open from 7am to 10pm so there is plenty of time to cast your vote. Find your nearest polling station (click here) and take part in an occasion which will go down in the history books as a landmark moment in Great British democracy.
A lesser known fact about today is that it also National Women in Engineering Day. So if you’ve had enough EU referendum for one life time why not use the hashtag #NWED2016 and help raise the profile of women in engineering and encourage more girls to consider a career in the field? After you’ve cast your vote of course.
About Paul:
Paul took over as CEO of the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce in June 2015, having previously been CEO of Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa. Locally, Paul is an Associate Non-Executive Director of Birmingham Children’s Hospital, and a Trustee of Cure Leukaemia, Town Hall Symphony Hall, and the Library of Birmingham Trust.
About the GBCC’s EU Referendum Series:
GBCC have not been campaigning for or a remain or leave vote in the EU referendum. Instead, we have been actively surveying business opinion, offering events with independent experts, providing neutral briefing documents and informing the debate without fear or favour. Read more about our EU Referendum activity here. For a briefing paper on what will happen post-referendum in the event of either a remain or leave vote, click here.
