#BoycottVirgin
 

The Tory leadership front runner met Sir Richard last week to discuss his fears for the UK's post-Brexit economy, Sky News learns.

The Virgin tycoon Sir Richard Branson has held secret talks with Theresa May in an effort to boost his plea for a second referendum on the UK's membership of the European Union (EU).

Hence the #BoycottVirgin

http://news.sky.com/story/1721938/br...mands-new-poll

Re: #BoycottVirgin
 

You can boycott as is your right but l will certainly be not boycotting them.

Re: #BoycottVirgin
 

Seems like a lot of effort. Brexit is one thing but changing ISPs? Ugh.

Re: #BoycottVirgin
 

Typical youth of today, lazy, don't you want to be free

Re: #BoycottVirgin
 

i work for virgin media so it would be difficult
but re dicky he should keep his barmpot ideas to himself typical self centered billionaire who is not a uk resident

Re: #BoycottVirgin
 

He's not UK resident indeed, but then neither does he have any real operational involvement in Virgin Media.

How self-centred he is I've no idea. Given the impact of all of this falls far harder on the poor than people like him it's tricky to blame his views on self-interest.

Re: #BoycottVirgin
 

I've heard that he's a pretty decent guy all round, the exact opposite from the stereotypical billionaire business guru

Re: #BoycottVirgin
 

money changes people

Re: #BoycottVirgin
 

Well my young brother works for one of his companies and they look after their staff very well and Richard Branson is known to be one of the best bosses to work for from what my brother tells me.

Re: #BoycottVirgin
 

Well doesn't Richard know about our Democratic vote - well rich geezers, don't give a crap about people that live on the poverty line, does he.

Its ok for people to say that he is a nice guy. But if he was such a nice guy. He would allow VM treat its customers with contempt and allow a company to treat its customer's like Bottomless pits of money, and always put subs up

Re: #BoycottVirgin
 

I didn't think virginmedia was actually owned by virgin anymore didn't liberty global buy it.

Re: #BoycottVirgin
 

Re: #BoycottVirgin
 

Pffft. Facts.

---------- Post added at 00:33 ---------- Previous post was at 00:27 ----------

Given that the poorest are going to hurt the most from the fallout of the vote, the poorest area of the UK for example is losing hundreds of millions, perhaps he does give a crap about people on the poverty line.

Dubious whether the same can be said for those who just voted to stop the EU funding in their local areas. Chances of Westminster replacing it aren't too hot.

Re: #BoycottVirgin
 

Richard Branson is apparently a very nice guy to work for. Certainly, a few friends who worked for his various companies loved working for them, and got a lot of perks (things like money off of products and services from all Virgin branded companies for both the employee and their family).

It's also worth noting that he will remain wealthy regardless of whether Britain does well out of brexit or not. He, like other multi billionaires, can move his money to wherever is profitable. He has little to lose if Brexit causes Britain problems, and, I would argue that being the astute businessman he has often proved himself to be, a lot to gain if Brexit is good for Britain.

The people who will lose a lot (potentially everything) are, in a lot of cases, the poorest people. Especially those in areas that voted to leave, as a lot of the areas that voted to leave were receiving money from various EU schemes intended to spark regeneration in given areas. Money that is likely to stop when we leave the EU, and money that our government has not promised to replace.
He is apparently a nice guy. He also has nothing to do with the day to day running of Virgin Media.

Re: #BoycottVirgin
 

Between 2014 and 2020:

Cornwall is allocated £863 per head (£476million for the region)
Wales, £627 per head (£1.9billion)
Tees Valley, £243 per head (£162million)
North Eastern, £221 per head (£430million).

Which should explain why Cornwall's politicians were immediately trying to get assurances from Westminster that it would replace their funding.

Personally I wouldn't bother. They made their bed.

---------- Post added at 12:17 ---------- Previous post was at 12:17 ----------

You're still a customer...

Re: #BoycottVirgin
 

Branson does not own VM Liberty Global does. Just correcting your misinformation again

Re: #BoycottVirgin
 

I'll take Branson over Sir Philip Green any day.

Re: #BoycottVirgin
 

I wouldn't bother either if I were them, if past government's gave a toss about these areas they wouldn't have needed European handouts in the first place

Re: #BoycottVirgin
 

Exactly.

Cornwall got extra as its GDP was less than 75% of the EU average, so it received convergence funding, same funding chain as Eastern European nations, to try and bring it closer to the wider EU.

As a councillor of mine proved very few realise how many programmes the EU was actually funding.

All well and good saying it was our money, which is true, but our own governments clearly had other priorities.

Re: #BoycottVirgin
 

Arguably, EU schemes, ultimately funded as they are by our own contributions, are a disincentive to Government action. It also neutralises regional depravation as an election issue.

These sorts of things should be front and centre of UK government policy. Perhaps, when the government of the day can no longer shrug its shoulders and outsource the problem to Brussels, the debate will change and we will start to take an appropriate interest in them.

Re: #BoycottVirgin
 

Hopefully it will be money well spent rather than things like cycle lanes that lead to nowhere and suddenly stop.

In Bolton several years ago they reduced the bypass to one lane each way from two to provide a cycle lanes that no-one uses. All under EU funding.

Re: #BoycottVirgin
 

Or we'll just have huge swathes of the country left to rot like in the '80's, I believe the government of the day thought that exactly the appropriate amount of interest to take in them.

Re: #BoycottVirgin
 

He has no operational involvement in Virgin Media, I'm not even sure if he is still a shareholder.

The only involvement he has is the £30 million he puts in sky rocket each year from leasing his brand to VM.

Re: #BoycottVirgin
 

In fairness to Cornwall, its councils warned its inhabitants about losing EU funding if we left the EU. They are now seeking reassurances from the Government that it will be replaced by UK funding. It's not the councils who made their bed but their naive residents who trusted the Leave Campaign's many, often contradictory, promises.

---------- Post added 11-07-2016 at 00:00 ---------- Previous post was 10-07-2016 at 23:43 ----------

He's not a shareholder, VM is 100% a subsidiary of LGI.
In fact, many Virgin-branded businesses are largely owned by other companies eg
Virgin Music - 100% by Universal Music
Virgin Wines - 100% Mobeus Equity Partners and Connection Capital
Virgin East Coast Trains - 90% Stagecoach Group
Virgin Books - 90% by Penguin Random House
Virgin Active - 80% by Braite
Virgin Radio UK - 100% by News Corp

---------- Post added at 00:05 ---------- Previous post was at 00:00 ----------

Liverpool's been transformed by EU funding and has been one of the fastest-increasing cities for contributing taxes to the UK.
It's not the EU's fault if councils' schemes don't work out as planned, it's up to the councils themselves to devise robust plans.

---------- Post added at 00:06 ---------- Previous post was at 00:05 ----------

Totally. Or Mike Ashley.