May Member-to-Member Lunch: The United Kingdom’s EU Referendum
May 10th, 2016
On June 23, the British public will vote on the referendum question, “Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union, or leave the European Union?" Supporters of the "Remain” and "Leave” campaigns are engaged in a passionate debate over the pros and cons of a 'Brexit'. In the “Remain” camp , Prime Minister David Cameron and the British Government are campaigning for the UK to remain a part of a reformed EU, having recently renegotiated the terms of the country's membership. In both camps, national and economic security are decisive factors in the upcoming vote.
On May 10, join the World Affairs Council for a timely Member-to-Member Lunch on the UK's upcoming EU referendum. Our discussion will be led by Robin Twyman, Consul (Business and Government Affairs) at the UK Government Office in Seattle.
This event is part of the 2015-2016 Community Programs Rapid Response Series.
Lunch is included at this event.
About our speaker:
Robin Twyman took up his posting as Consul (Business and Government Affairs) at the UK Government Office in Seattle in January 2013. He was previously First Secretary (Trade Policy, Business Affairs and Agriculture) at the British Embassy in Washington.
Born in Canterbury, Kent, in 1968, Robin joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in 1987. His diplomatic career has seen him serve overseas tours in Harare, Zimbabwe (1989-1992), and Geneva, Switzerland (2001-2006), plus short overseas tours in Mozambique, Mauritius, Russia, Abu Dhabi, Israel, Jordan, DR Congo, Albania, Zambia, Qatar, Nigeria, Syria, and Yemen.
Robin’s assignments have covered a wide range of duties. In Geneva, Robin was a UK delegate to the World Trade Organisation, where his portfolio included the Doha Trade Round’s agriculture negotiations, and trade disputes. Whilst there, he was elected to serve as a chair on one of the WTO’s sub-committees. In the FCO in London, Robin has been a Foreign Office Press Officer (1999-2001), Horn of Africa desk officer, a manager for the UK’s Afghanistan Counter Narcotics programme, and headed up the UK’s South Atlantic Overseas Territories team.