Firms that employ thousands of people across Cumbria have signed a letter supporting the campaign to stay in the EU.
In a letter published and signed in The Times this morning, 200 businesses have pledged their support to the pro-EU camp saying that the Union secured business and jobs in the UK.
Several big names have signed the letter, including Sir Roger Carr, the chairman of BAE Systems, which has a huge base in Barrow and employs thousands of people in Cumbria.
Alongside Sir Carr, Sir Andrew Witty, chief executive of GSK and Juergen Maier, the chief executive of Siemens have also signed the letter. Across the UK, the businesses employ 52,200 people.
Notable in their absence, were several leading supermarkets including Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Tesco. The letter reads: “The businesses we lead represent every sector and region of the United Kingdom.
“Together we employ more than one million people across the country. Following the prime minister’s renegotiation we believe that Britain is better off staying in a reformed European Union. He has secured a commitment from the EU to reduce the burden of regulation, deepen the single market and to sign off crucial international trade deals.
Business needs unrestricted access to the European market of 500 million people in order to continue to grow, invest and create jobs. We believe that leaving the EU would deter investment and threaten jobs. It would put the economy at risk. Britain will be stronger, safer and better off remaining a member of the European Union.”