Voice of 150,000 UK SMEs says no to Brexit
Members of the UK200Group of accountancy and lawyer firms, which reflect the views of their 150,000 SME clients, have today voted at their annual conference and 54% have already decided that the UK should remain a member of the EU. 6% have made up their mind that the country should leave, whilst just under a quarter (24%) believe that the UK should remain members but they could be persuaded to leave, in contrast to 9% that are in favour of a Brexit, but could be persuaded to remain.
Interestingly, despite these results, 35% think that David Cameron should campaign to remain in the EU, and a dramatic shift in political position of Corbyn’s Labour party is seen by 52% of UK200Group members as potentially causing a split in the party. Just under a fifth (19%) think it’s good to have a socialist voice, whilst 4% fear militant employee action could follow.
Nick Willis, president of UK200Group, said: “These results show that UK200Group members have their finger on the pulse of what business life is like for the 150,000 SMEs that we represent. The figures recognise that despite the referendum on EU membership being held at some point in the next two years, our members are overwhelmingly convinced that a Brexit would be a poor move and that we should remain members of the EU.”