Brexit is bad for Britain
UKFast CEO Lawrence Jones explains why he thinks Britain is better off in the EU
Today we've been given more uncertainty and more debate. The foreseeable future will now be taken up with election speculation instead of how we can get our country back on track after months of EU speculation. Who will replace David Cameron - Nigel Farage? Who will take on the responsibility of cutting the umbilical cord and separating us from Europe? Will we be able to keep trading on the same terms? Confidence is through the floor. It's not good for Britain.
It's a big message we've sent to the world. It's saying that we want to be on our own and it's the exact opposite to how I feel. Business, as anything in the world, should be about collaboration and working together.
It is interesting that there seems to be part of the country with strong schools and strong industry saying 'stay' and areas that have not benefited from the same level of government investment saying 'leave'. I appreciate the concerns of people in these often poorer areas, but I don't think leaving the EU solves their problems. Will the new government redistribute wealth because we've left Europe? I don't see it playing out that way.
It's not just about the money we get back [from Europe] - it's about the legislation, the culture and the collaboration. We are significantly better with Europe holding people accountable and maintaining standards. If you look at all the things in which Europe invested, such as museums, art galleries, medical research - the list is so long - and the Leave campaign is saying that they have more money to spend. But where will they spend it?
Data dilemma
Look at data regulation as an example from our industry. Within the EU we are in an incredibly strong position and are held to the highest privacy standards. This helps us to build confidence and to trade in this valuable currency. I don't trust our government to keep the same standards and inspire the same level of confidence. We need to ensure the right safeguards are in place once we leave the EU.
We have been able to win significant amounts of business from our giant American competitors due to the fact that we are held to higher standards on data regulation than the US, and people trust that standard. We will be doing everything we can to guarantee our new standards are at least equal to the current EU regulation. The so-called Snoopers' Charter is already eroding confidence in UK data and losing the influence of Brussels may have a further negative impact.
Once again, it's all about the politicians. It's all about Boris and it's terrible for Britain and for British people. Is Farage the leader of the future? I can't think of anything worse! Where has Cameron been? He has given us the opportunity to leave and the opportunity for people to go against the Tories. It seems he conceded long ago.
It's a lesson for everybody to learn that continuous marketing will always beat sporadic messaging. Farage and Boris simply worked harder. Cameron hasn't been visible. I think he just thought that we would be safely in the Remain camp and he locked himself away.
Lawrence Jones is CEO of UKFast