Greater Birmingham firms urge PM to name the date for the EU referendum

BUSINESS leaders in Greater Birmingham have called on the Prime Minister to announce a date for the EU referendum – and spelled out what its implications might be for business.
 
Paul Faulkner, chief executive of Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, led the call in the wake of a British Chambers of Commerce survey which revealed that the majority of business leaders felt their vote would not be swayed by the outcome of Mr Cameron’s Brussels talks.
 
Faulkner said: “While the Prime Minister is hoping to strike a good deal at the summit of EU leaders, our results indicate the outcome won’t significantly impact on businesses’ voting intentions. The EU is a critical trading partner for the region and the majority of businesses feel that the referendum will have a significant impact on their organisations.
 
“What businesses need now is real clarity on what the EU referendum and, whatever the outcome, new deal will mean for businesses on a practical level. They also need confirmation of the EU referendum date as soon as possible to put an end to the current uncertainty.”

The comments mirror the views of panellists taking part in TheBusinessDesk.com’s recent Big Manufacturing Debate.

Faulkner said his chamber would be working with its members to cut through the “biases and ambiguity” surrounding the EU referendum and inform firms about the potential impact of either an ‘in’ or ‘out’ vote on businesses.
 
In the BCC survey  nearly two-thirds (63%) of those polled have revealed that the outcome of the Prime Minister’s renegotiation is unlikely to change how they will vote – despite large majorities saying they are familiar with the objectives of the renegotiation package.
 
Of the 250 West Midlands firms who took part in the survey, almost two thirds (65%) of respondents said they were following the EU referendum debate quite or very closely, while a similar figure said they rated the EU referendum as quite or very important to their business.
 
However, 59% of respondents said that the outcome of Mr Cameron’s renegotiation of the UK’s relationship with the EU was unlikely to affect how they will vote in the referendum.
 
If the referendum was undertaken today, 50% would vote to remain, 38% would vote to leave.
 
The chamber said this reflected the national picture, where 60% said they wanted to stay in Europe, with 30% wanting to leave. The ‘stay’ vote was slightly down on the last survey (63%) and the ‘leave’ vote slightly up (27%). This survey was conducted in September last year.

John Longworth, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said: “When we last surveyed chamber members in September, we did not know the detail or ambition of the Prime Minister’s renegotiation package. Now our findings suggest that the renegotiation is having little impact on day-to-day business — or the vote of the BCC’s business community, since many made up their minds before knowing the outcome of negotiations, effectively discounting them as irrelevant.
 
“Our findings suggest that for businesspeople, this is a question of in or out — not renegotiation. Business remains divided on Europe, and business leaders’ views reflect the size of their firm and their export interests, rather than the current political debate. They are making rational economic choices based on their own interests.
 
“Our findings are a wake-up call for both the ‘remain’ and ‘leave’ camps. Neither side can bank on a change to business opinion in the wake of any renegotiation settlement.”