Date: 29 April 2016FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Press Release

REIMAGINING EUROPE

What has Europe ever done for us? Are you unsure about how you're going to vote in the EU Referendum? Would you like to know more, to help you decide?On Tuesday 17 May at 7.00 pm, the Cathedral is hosting a presentation and conversation about the EU Referendum. We are delighted to be welcoming Lord Wallace of Saltaire as our keynote speaker, and to discuss this vital subject with us. There will be opportunity to hear a presentation about the issues, to discuss what's important with friends and neighbours, and to consider how faith shapes our views.

The Dean of Bradford, the Very Revd Jerry Lepine, said "The Church of England does not take a view on which way people should vote in the upcoming EU referendum but, as Christians, we do believe it is vital that we should be open to hearing both sides of the argument and, where we disagree, to demonstrate acceptance of those with differing views. I'm delighted to invite friends from across the Bradford district, of all faiths and none, to take part in this conversation about the EU referendum."

This event is presented in partnership with Christians in Politics and Theos, but people of all faiths, and no faith are welcome. Similar events are being held in Ripon and Wakefield cathedrals.

Entry is free, but for catering purposes, please book your place by calling the Cathedral Office on 01274 777720 or by emailing .

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Notes for Editors

The intention is to create a space for good discussion around the EU referendum, allowing for in-depth conversation with Lord Wallace and with each other, in which different views are explored and respected.

Background information to this initiative can also be found at where one of the contributors is The Rt Revd Nick Baines, Bishop of Leeds.

William Wallace (Lord Wallace of Saltaire) is foreign affairs spokesman for the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords. From 2010-2015 he was a coalition government minister and whip in the House of Lords, representing the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Cabinet Office. He worked with two Conservative ministerial colleagues on 32 reports on the ‘Balance of Competences’ between the UK and the EU, published in 2013-14.

He is also emeritus professor of international relations at the London School of Economics, where he had taught full-time from 1995-2005. He studied history at Cambridge University, and politics and international relations at Cornell University in New York. He taught at Manchester University from 1967-1977, ran the research programme at the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House) from 1978-1990, and was a research fellow at Oxford from 1990-95 while also helping to set up the International Relations Department at the new Central European University in Budapest. As a boy he was a chorister at Westminster Abbey, and sang in the Coronation; he now sings in the Parliament Choir.

He joined the Liberal Party as a student. He fought five parliamentary elections in Manchester and Yorkshire, and chaired the manifesto working group for the 1979 and 1997 elections. He was awarded an honorary degree from the Free University of Brussels in 1992, and the French Legion d’Honneur in 2005. He was appointed to the Lords in 1995, and to the Privy Council in 2012.

For further information please contact:

Sandra Howard

PA to the Dean
Cathedral Communications Officer

t:01274 777723

e:

1

Yours : Faithfully

Bradford Cathedral, Stott Hill, Bradford, BD1 4EH

T: 01274 777720 F: 01274 777730