Survey reveals 53.6 percent of Northamptonshire businesses would stay in EU, says Chamber

The survey showed 53.6 percent of local business people would vote for Britain to remain in EU membership, whilst 37.5% would vote leave in the referendum on 23 June.

Meanwhile 8.9 percent of business people in Northamptonshire were undecided.

The findings, from the pre-referendum survey conducted in April mirror the national results released by the British Chambers of Commerce(BCC). The BCC’s detailed findings indicate that 54.1 percent of businesspeople nationwide surveyed would vote to stay down from 60 percent in February 2016, and 37 percent would vote to leave – up from 30 percent on the BCC’s previous survey.

In response to the local poll, Northamptonshire Chamber is holding a debate on June 15 for businesses on whether Britain should remain in or out of the EU.

Representatives from the official campaign groups, Vote Leave and Britain Stronger in Europe will be putting the case for both sides of the issue.

Paul Griffiths, chief executive of Northamptonshire Chamber, said: “With the EU Referendum fast approaching, now is the time to engage with this debate - especially as it impacts many businesses.

“Either vote will create a degree of uncertainty. A ‘leave’ vote because of the impact of exiting the EU and subsequent protracted processes, and a ‘remain’ vote because of the impact of future negotiations.

“The chamber - although neutral in this debate – is actively working to ensure businesses are kept informed and up to date on developments from both sides of the argument.”

The EU Referendum debate will be held at Nene Whitewater Centre, on Bedford Road, Northampton, from 10am to noon. It is free to attend and exclusive to member organisations.

To book onto this event, contact the events team on 01604 490490 or policy executive Simon Dishman at [email protected]