EU Referendum


EU Referendum: the gathering of the clans


25/09/2015



000a Bloomberg-025 quit.jpg

Working out of from the seventh floor of Westminster Tower, an unimposing office block on the South Bank opposite the Houses of Parliament, a new team, which claims to have room for 100 staff, is set to go to work on the EU referendum campaign, soon to be formally launched as the "Campaign to Leave".

So far, aside from some limited publicity, all they have to show for their efforts is a website, yet to be activated but registered to one Thomas Borwick, one of three sons to Lord Borwick and Victoria Poore, the latter a Conservative London Assembly Member and Deputy Mayor of London and, since 2015, MP for Kensington.

Young Thomas's wider allegiances are hinted at by the address he gives for the domain registration – 55 Tufton Street, SW1P 3QL. This happens to be the home of Business for Britain, prop. Matthew Elliott, a man often seen as the putative leader of what was originally going to be the "no campaign".

In anticipation of this, Mr Elliott on 10 June had registered the domain nocampaign.org, this one from the address 3 Albert Embankment, which just happens to be the postal address of Westminster Tower.

The purchase of the domain rights enabled Mr Elliott to use the e-mail address [email protected], an address shared with young Thomas who boasts the e-mail, thomas.borwick@nocampaign – thus more closely linking the pair in this enterprise, another of several more links which bind them together in a loose network which takes in Paul Staines, of Guido Fawkes blog fame, and the sole director of a Hong-Kong investment company who has funded several of their enterprises.

Still identified by Bloomberg as Business for Britain (although this has indicated it will be folded into the new campaign), we are told that this is one of three separate "leave" groups that are launching in September and October.

Mr Elliott says the campaign will be ready for a March referendum, believing that a "snap" contest would allow the prime minister to capitalise on his post-election authority and to take advantage of a divided opposition Labour Party to swing the result his way.

Elliott sees it as essential to persuade voters that leaving wouldn't pose the economic risk cited by groups including the Confederation of British Industry. "The CBI wants to campaign for in, but their membership is divided just like the rest of the business community, so they really should stay out of the debate", he adds.

"Many of the entrepreneurs that I speak to are concerned that the burden of EU regulation is costing them business and preventing them from expanding and creating jobs. That's why we need to take back control of our own economy from EU politicians", he also tells Bloomberg.

Meanwhile, as Mr Elliott and his team enjoy their fourth month as leaseholders of their prestigious London address, the remnants of a self-proclaimed "army" gather in Doncaster for the Ukip conference, with their leader proclaiming that the weekend will see "a show of eurosceptic solidarity".

Having prematurely kick-started the campaign last June - also falling for the trap of assuming there could be an early referendum - Farage has been rewarded with minimal press coverage and declining interest in his party.

At his conference, however, there will be representatives from the For Britain Campaign – another of Mr Elliott's operations – and The Know.EU, set up by former Ukip donor Arron Banks. Also present will be "Better Off Out" and its parent organisation, the Freedom Association, which will for a time share a stage with senior Ukip politicians.

Ironically, the first appearance of The Know.EU on a Ukip stage could also be its last – anywhere. Like Mr Elliott with his "no campaign", Mr Banks has also been caught out by the change in the referendum question recommended by the Electoral Commission, from "yes" and "no" to "remain" and "leave".

Mr Banks has responded by bagging the "Leave.EU" domain. At the moment it points to his current site, but presages a full-blown name change which is shortly to follow, together with a new campaign direction.

Alongside that, his campaign has appointed the powerful US-based strategist Goddard Gunster, to manage the campaign strategy, giving a powerful boost to the anti-EU forces.

Specifically, they claim to bring "fresh ideas" to the table and, all-importantly, "recognise the importance of making this a campaign about the issue, not personalities". The approach reinforces Mr Banks's determination that his should be a people's campaign, not dominated by politicians or celebrities.

With that, Leave.EU is planning to bring Ukip together with other veteran Eurosceptic organisations including the Democracy Movement, Global Britain and the Bruges Group, with Banks saying: "We are putting past differences aside to build a truly cross-party campaign for the people and not dominated by politicians".

Banks admits that the groups have not been "the best of friends in the past", but he stresses that the referendum campaign cannot be won "from inside the Westminster bubble".

If the alliance holds together, this and other moves may well place Leave.EU - operating from Milbank Tower on the north bank of the Thames, and from offices in Bristol - in poll position to gain lead designation from the Electoral Commission, making it the official "leave" campaign.

For once, the "bubble" may be left on the margins.