Agenda item

Joint report of the Remembrancer and Director of Public Relations.

The subcommittee received a joint report of the Remembrancer and the Director of Public Relations on the implications of the 2015 General Election for the City of London Corporation. The Chairman commented that he had undertaken some positive engagement with politicians since the election, including Greg Clark (Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government), Brandon Lewis (Minister for Housing and Planning), Lord Adonis (Labour) and Lord Hill (European Commissioner for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union).

Members then discussed the forthcoming referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU. The Chairman noted his recent statement to the Court of Common Council in May 2015 that emphasised the majority view of City businesses was that the UK was better off as a member of the European Union, and that UK interests were best served by being fully engaged in EU policy making as a EU member. He acknowledged that differences of opinion existed among members of the Court of Common Council over the EU, and the City of London Corporation’s role in the EU referendum would therefore be decided through the committee process in the usual way.

Members noted the range of factors that would need to be catered for when deciding the City of London Corporation’s position on the EU, namely the Prime Minister’s efforts to secure EU reform; UK sovereignty; the industries the City of London Corporation was best placed to represent; whether the City should adopt a wider public relations message than once focused purely on financial services; and the role EU membership played in providing jobs in the UK.

RESOLVED, that:

·         The matter of the City of London Corporation’s policy on UK membership of the European Union be referred to the Policy and Resources Committee for consideration; and

·         A briefing note be issued to members of the Court of Common Council outlining the current approach of the City of London Corporation to UK membership of the EU, and the forthcoming decision-making process on the City of London Corporation’s EU policy.