From Cider pressing to Brexit bashing

[megilleland]

Julian Dunkerton: the man who gave £1m to the People’s Vote campaign

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The Superdry founder, who rose from humble origins, says he ‘wants to do the right thing’

Julian Dunkerton has already seen the course of his life change dramatically, in his rise from humble market stall trader to fashion mogul with A-list celebrities DJ-ing at his wedding.

Now the multimillionaire founder of the Superdry label hopes to play a role in changing the future of the nation. His £1m gift to the People’s Vote campaign, demanding a new referendum on the terms of Britain’s EU exit, catapults him into a small group of people to make six-figure political donations in Britain. Such is the toxicity of the Brexit debate that finding business figures willing to enter the fray has been a difficult task for those wanting to revisit the decision, making Dunkerton’s public donation a significant moment.

Dunkerton, 53, began his career running a stall in Cheltenham in the 1980s before starting up the Superdry label with the designer James Holder in 2003. The brand’s first shop opened in Covent Garden in London in 2004 and there are now more than 500 outlets in 46 countries. Dunkerton is said to have a personal fortune of £441m.

Dunkertons history reaches back to 1980 when Ivor and Susie Dunkerton made the decision to escape London and buy a small holding in Herefordshire. Their  vision was to turn the land into a viable business opportunity and  they soon realised that cider production was the solution.

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How It All Began

At that time Herefordshire  had one company that dominated cider production in the County with very few traditional cider producers despite the vast amount of orchards. Ivor and Susie spotted an opportunity  to make a unique cider whilst operating in a similar fashion to a vineyard  and without using concentrates or chemicals.

During the first years Susie and Ivor did everything from shoveling apples  and loading their original 1930’s Hydraulic Press.  They were eventually  joined by Robert  who quickly became Chief Cider-maker.

Recent Times

In 2014 Susie and Ivor made the tough decision to step aside and Robert also decided to retire. Their son Julian took on ownership with Bean Benson as Managing Director. in 2017 the business operations were relocated to Gloycestshire, The orchards remain in Herefordshire whilst presing and bottling takes place at our new cidery in Gloucestershire.

Can't say I agree with him. Must have drunk too much cider!

[atm63]

What happened to the vote that was cast ?? In or out it has been cast . What do they want ? If another vote and it goes the other way then the leave voters demand ( throw teddies) until another vote is cast , it could go on and on and on . It has turned into a farce and those that brought it about have slowly slipped away with a big wage/ pension pot.  Rewarded for failure yet again ...

 

[megilleland]

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While he has not made a political donation in the past, he has spoken of coming from a leftwing background and having a “deep-seated desire to do the right thing”. He said earlier this year: “I was a Labour supporter in the 1980s but today I’m non-party political and a strict Remainer.” He has now proved it with his wallet.

Julian Dunkerton says: “I’m putting some of my money behind the People’s Vote campaign because we have a genuine chance to turn this around. I’ve got a good instinct for when a mood is going to change and we’re in one of those moments now. It’s becoming clear there is no vision for Brexit and the politicians have made a mess of it. Increasingly, the public knows that Brexit is going to be a disaster. Maybe they just need to be given that little bit of hope that comes when they see how opinion is moving.

“I will be paying for one of the most detailed polling exercises ever undertaken by a campaign so that more and more people have the confidence to demand the democratic right for their voice to be heard – to get a People’s Vote on any Brexit deal or the outcome of these negotiations.”

Why not give all of us £20 to vote leave and get the result he wants.
 

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Sir Peter Tapsell, the former Father of the House and Conservative MP, has died aged 88. (Daily Telegraph today)

Known for his single-minded approach to politics, he voted against Geoffrey Howe's 1981 Budget - the first Tory MP to vote against a Conservative budget since the 1930s, plunging him into internal party exile.

He was also a fierce critic of the Maastricht Treaty and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, calling for the impeachment of Tony Blair for misleading Parliament over the invasion of Iraq.

A staunch Brexiteer, he told The Daily Telegraph in 2014: "Everything that has gone wrong in Britain dates from us joining the European Union."

 

[Paul Jones]

10 hours ago, atm63 said:

What happened to the vote that was cast ?? In or out it has been cast . What do they want ? If another vote and it goes the other way then the leave voters demand ( throw teddies) until another vote is cast , it could go on and on and on . It has turned into a farce and those that brought it about have slowly slipped away with a big wage/ pension pot.  Rewarded for failure yet again ...

 

I agree entirely. Lets just keep having referendums until the remainers get the result they want, NOT

[bobby47]

That's the idea Paul. The rich, the famous, the ruling elite, including our Parliamentarians, all expect us to follow their needs and wishes.

Their problem is, and they've no idea it is their problem, is the same now as it was when we went to the Polls. They expected us to Remain and had never considered that we'd vote to Leave.

They got it wrong then and if there was a second vote and there won't be, they'd get it wrong again. Every single person that I know who voted to Leave would do the same again. In fact, full of contempt for Barnier, Brussels and our Government, the ones I know who voted to Remain would now vote Leave simply because of the way in which the electorate have been treated by our so called European friends.

As for the Polls, in relation to this issue, I'd take no notice of them. Truth is, those people polled are to embarrassed and ashamed to admit they voted Leave. Why? Because if you voted Leave, you're a racist, you hate foreigners, your badly informed and you didn't know what you were doing when you voted to Leave.

This is modern democracy. You vote the way they want you to vote and if you disappoint them you vote again until you've got it wrong and made it right for them.

Sadly, those who've succeeded in frustrating the will of the people will later shake their heads in disbelief when it becomes apparent to them that the people no longer have faith in the ballot box and instead resort to public disorder when the 'wrong' party becomes the next government. As for other consequences, such as our relationship with other EU member states who sat back and did nothing to help Britain, there'll be a reckoning and the British people will not forget who did what, who said what and why they opted to help rob them of their democratic vote to Leave just to please the rich, the famous and those with power who've absolutely no regard for democracy.

We were given this British citizenship vote for a specific reason. To ensure that democracy prevailed and no King, Dictator, Ruler or Despot could ever usurp our will and we could never be slaves to any ruling elite. We in Britain are about to find out that this no longer is true, democracy is no more and our individual vote means nothing any longer.