Goldman Sachs is donating a ‘six-figure’ sum to a campaign fighting to sway British voters to remain in the European Union, Sky News reported Wednesday. British voters will go to the polls at some point before the end of 2017 to determine if they want to stay in the EU or leave the organization.
While Goldman Sachs and political campaign organization Britain Stronger in Europe have not confirmed the donation, it has been widely reported and accepted by British media outlets with little surprise. Shortly after news emerged of Goldman Sachs’ alleged political spending, JPMorgan indicated it was willing to spend “a significant sum of money” to keep Britain in the EU, according to The Guardian.
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon commented about the possibility of a British departure from the European Union while at this week’s annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The Davos Forum is an annual gathering for political and business leader to publicly and privately discuss the latest current events and plan for the year ahead.
British Prime Minister David Cameron planned to ask business leaders at the Davos Forum this week to publicly push for Britain to remain the European Union, according to BBC News. The irony stems from Prime Minister Cameron having campaigned for reelection in 2015 by pledging to let the British vote on EU membership in a referendum by the end of 2017.
Prime Minister Cameron made the aforementioned campaign pledge to protect his right flank as Europe has seen the rise of anti-EU sentiment in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis. UK Independence Party (UKIP) led by Nigel Farage, which is a far right party that wants to leave the EU, made significant gains in 2014 EU Parliament elections and posed a serious threat to Cameron in 2015 UK elections.
Campaigners for Vote Leave which wants Britain to leave the EU, have fiercely reacted to Goldman Sachs’ alleged political spending. Upon hearing about Goldman’s alleged political donations, Vote Leave pointed out that in 2014 the US bank spent over $767,000 to lobby the EU according to International Business Times.
British citizens will vote on the contentious matter of EU membership at some point before the end of 2017.
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