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A London Insider's View Of Brexit - And Texas

Rick Holter/KERA News
Jeffrey Mountevans is the Lord Mayor of London.

A week ago, British voters shocked the world when they voted to pull Britain out of the European Union. One of the clearest voices against what's known as "Brexit" visited North Texas this week.

Jeffrey Mountevans is the Lord Mayor of London. He heads the City of London Corporation, which governs the city’s financial sector. Though the Corporation doesn’t take political positions, Mountevans told KERA’s Rick Holter the group had to take a stand against Brexit.

Interview Highlights: Lord Mayor Jeffrey Mountevans…

…On why the City of London Corporation weighed in on Brexit:

“In March, we had a discussion and debate about whether we’d take a position on this because it strays on the political and we work closely with government of whatever [party] they are. We took a decision that it was right that we take a position on this, this was of great importance to the city and secondly…we felt that it was in the interest of the city of London to remain in a reformed EU.”

…On how London will cope with Brexit:

“There will be some change. Change is something we’ve very used to in the city of London. We’re very adaptable and adaptive. To be honest, I don’t think any of us think we’re going to be falling off the edge of a cliff at all. New opportunities constantly arise so we will be looking for those.”

…On similarities between the UK and Texas:

“This is a very sophisticated business environment in Dallas and in Texas, but I think particularly in Dallas, which is a city I know better than some others. You have a very sophisticated investor community. [Texas] is a very important part of the U.S. economy, which is the largest economy in the world. We’re both leading investors in each other’s countries.

[Post-Brexit] I think we’ll be looking to minimize any obstacles to business. That’s been a priority in the UK and that’s very much been a priority here in Texas too, to be a great place to do business. I think the rest of the world can learn a great deal from Texas.”

Former KERA staffer Krystina Martinez was an assistant producer. She produced local content for Morning Edition and KERANews.org. She also produced The Friday Conversation, a weekly series of conversations with North Texas newsmakers. Krystina was also the backup newscaster for the Texas Standard.
Rick Holter was KERA's vice president of news. He oversaw news coverage on all of KERA's platforms – radio, digital and television. Under his leadership, KERA News earned more than 200 local, regional and national awards, including the station's first two national Edward R. Murrow Awards. He and the KERA News staff were also part of NPR's Ebola-coverage team that won a George Foster Peabody Award, broadcasting's highest honor.