On 23 June 2016, the UK will settle the long running question of whether we should leave or remain within the European Union. No country has ever left the European Union before, so no one can predict the end results.
On Friday, 10 June 2016 from 2.30pm – 5pm, Norfolk Chamber will be holding a debate to give the Norfolk business community clear information on the viewpoint for both sides of the argument.
This will be one of the biggest choices facing the British electorate in a generation. We want to give you the opportunity to hear from both the Remain and Leave campaigns, and have the chance to ask for the clear evidence and information that businesspeople need in order to make an informed choice at the ballot box.
As part of the British Chambers of Commerce’s ongoing research programme into business sentiment towards the upcoming referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU, the BCC is running amajorpollto measure business attitudes and impacts.The fieldwork for this survey is open from 5 April to 15 April.
The last EU poll from the British Chambers of Commerce, conducted in February 2016, highlighted over two-thirds (69%) of the senior businesspeople in the East of England, confirmed that the outcome of the Prime Minister’s renegotiation was unlikely to change how they will vote. This wasdespite large majorities saying they are familiar with theobjectives of therenegotiation package.
Views varied between categories of business, with those exporting only to the EU expressing the strongest support for “remain”, while those exporting only outside the EU expressing the strongest support for “leave”.
Commenting on the last BCC poll results, Caroline Williams, Chief Executive of Norfolk Chamber said: “The findings suggested that for businesspeople, this was a question of in or out- not renegotiation. Business remained divided on Europe, andbusinessleaders’ views reflected 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.”
So what are the advantages and disadvantages of being a part of Europe? Would Britain be better off staying inside the club or going it alone?
Those in the ‘remain camp’ – the leading group being Britain is Stronger in Europe, highlight that 3 million jobs (one in every ten UK jobs) are linked to our trade with the EU[1] and the UK gets £66 million of investment from EU countries every day[2]. UK workers get vital protections because we’re in the EU: including guaranteed holiday and maternity leave, and protection from discrimination. According to figures from HMRC, 61% of small business export to the EU and 200,000 UK businesses trade with the EU.
Whereas those in the ‘leave camp’ – the main group being Vote Leave, believe that Britain is being held back by the EU, which they say imposes too many rules on business and charges billions of pounds a year in membership fees for little in return. They also want Britain to take back full control of its borders and reduce the number of people coming here to work. They also highlight that leaving the EU would result in an immediate cost saving, as the country would no longer contribute to the EU budget. Last year, Britain paid in £13bn, but it also received £4.5bn worth of spending[3].
For more information and to book to attend the Chamber’s ‘Europe: The Business Debate’ click here. This event is open to members and non members.
[1] Source: Centre for Economic & Business Research
[2] Source: Office for National Statistics
[3] Source: Full Fact ( https://fullfact.org/europe/cost-benefits/)
