Business vote tightens as referendum campaign heads to the finish line

• A recent Chamber of Commerce pre-referendum survey shows that, with less than 50 days to go, a majority of businesspeople surveyed (54%) say they will vote for the UK to Remain in the European Union
• Voting intentions have tightened amongst the businesspeople surveyed – with Leave now polling seven points higher (37%) than in the previous February survey
• Previous survey in February had Remain on 60%, Leave with 30%, and 10% don’t know
• The vast majority – nearly 90% – of those businesspeople surveyed are unlikely to change their vote

Nearly 90% of the businesspeople polled in a new British Chambers of Commerce survey say they are unlikely to change how they will vote before the June 23rd referendum.

The detailed findings indicate that 54.1% of businesspeople polled would vote to Remain, down from 60% in February 2016, and 37% would vote to Leave – up from 30% on the BCC’s previous survey.

The findings, from an April 2016 survey of over 2,200 leading businesspeople, also show that individuals are now strongly committed to their voting preferences. Just 0.3% of respondents said they were uncommitted, and only 10.8% said they could change their mind.
Commenting on the results, Andrew Denniff, Chief Executive of Barnsley & Rotherham Chamber of Commerce, said:

“As the referendum campaign enters the final weeks, the race for the business vote has clearly tightened. A clear majority of the businesses surveyed continue to express a preference to remain in the European Union, the gap between Remain and Leave has narrowed significantly in recent weeks.

“A minority of businesspeople report that the referendum campaign has had a material impact on their firms to date, although they expect significant impacts in the aftermath of the vote”.

Locally the Chamber will be holding a final EU Referendum Breakfast Debate, in association with Claydon Accountancy Limited, the week before the actual vote, on Friday 17th June. This will take place at the Holiday Inn Barnsley, Barnsley Road, Barnsley S75 3JT from 8:00 – 10:00 am, bookings can be made online at www.brchamber.co.uk.