He Lobbies to Leave While Profiting From Europe
A British appliance manufacturer favors Brexit even though it might raise trade barriers.
An employee assembles boxes of dehumidifiers on the production line at the Ebac Ltd. factory in Newton Aycliffe, U.K.
Photographer: Matthew Lloyd/Bloomberg
John Elliott was one of Brexit’s biggest business backers in northeast England. He debated in front of corporate groups and appeared on radio and television before the June 23 vote. He even dressed as a woman for a comic pro-separation video.
Elliott said there’s nothing odd about lobbying for the split—even though it might cost the company he built the tariff-free advantages that now apply to most of its exports.