|
|
In the coming referendum support from British business for remaining in the European Union is often presented as a foregone conclusion. However new YouGov research suggests the business community is more fragmented on the issue than the views of heads of big banks and FTSE companies would have you believe. With small and medium enterprises (SMEs) accounting for 60% of all private sector employment in the UK and 47% of private sector turnover, if SME employees are influenced at all by their companies' or employers' interests regarding the EU then this is the cohort campaigners will want on their side when addressing the business aspect of the referendum.
YouGov has spoken to three distinct types of businesses to gauge their attitudes to the forthcoming EU referendum: large companies (FTSE 100 and FTSE 250); digital entrepreneurs (with a typical company size of 25 employees); and small and medium-sized businesses.
While large companies and digital entrepreneurs strongly favour remaining in the EU, among SMEs the story is more similar to what we've found with the general public. Of the 501 owners and managing directors surveyed, 47% are in favour of staying in the EU while 42% want to leave – when YouGov last asked the general public on December 18, 41% said they would vote to remain and 42% said they would vote to leave.
