The official Britain Stronger in Europe and Vote Leave campaigns will debate Brexit live at the Microlise Transport Conference, just over one month before the crunch EU referendum.
Representing Britain Stronger in Europe will be former Conservative MP Paul Uppal who once chaired the All Party Urban Development Group, held positions at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and voted against holding an EU referendum whilst in government in 2011.
Arguing in favour of Brexit for Vote Leave will be Andrew Baxter, owner and Managing Director of large independent transport operator Europa Worldwide, which employs more than 600 people in the UK across 13 sites.
Each speaker will be given five minutes to address the audience of more than 1,000 transport professionals, with the remaining time opened to questions from the floor. Conference host and motoring journalist Quentin Willson will moderate the session, directing audience members’ questions submitted by electronic keypads.
Bob Harbey, Executive Director of Microlise, says that the EU debate had to be represented at the Microlise Transport Conference this year. “The Conference isn’t just a place to find out about technology and discuss the issues that impact the transport industry. It’s also a platform for broader topics like this which will affect the road transport industry regardless of the outcome in June,” he said.
“In a poll at the conference in 2015 half of delegates said that leaving the European Union would have a negative impact on the UK haulage industry and a fifth thought an exit would be positive with the remainder of the delegates undecided. It will be interesting to see how sentiment has changed over the last twelve months,” added Harbey.
The Microlise Transport Conference also features a packed agenda including HRH The Princess Royal, the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, Transport for London, She’s RHA, Fowler Welch and the National Roads Policing Intelligence Forum.
Two exciting panel sessions are also scheduled to take place during the day; one on attracting new talent into the industry from untapped sources and the second looking at Road Transport 2020 – featuring senior representatives from the vehicle manufacturers.
Now the largest of its kind in Europe, the free-to-attend conference is hosted by Microlise whose telematics and proof of delivery solutions help to reduce costs and the environmental impact of fleet operations.
The conference agenda will be supported by three workshops focused on technology, compliance and industry issues plus a 3,500 square metre industry exhibition area.