The financial times does a “poll of polls” that aggregates every poll conducted on the referendum. The most recent set of results saw 'remain' at 46%, 'leave' at 38% and 'undecided' at 16%. Since the first poll in February 2015, 'undecided' has remained fairly steady at around the 16% mark, whilst the in/out positions have slowly converged on each other. They have actually jumped apart recently; an earlier YouGov poll in January put 'In' and 'Out' at 41% and 42% respectively – the closest result we have seen yet and the first to show a majority of 'Out' supporters. If anything, the result is becoming harder to predict. The picture within the business is perhaps even more interesting.
There has recently been a letter circulating with 198 signatures from 36 FTSE 100 companies stating their support for continued EU membership. Obviously, these companies are all big, high growth companies that hire large numbers of people and trade globally. It is no real surprise that they support Britain's membership of the EU. A vote to remain is the less risky of the two as things are most likely to stay just as they are it would be business as usual. Throw in potential uncertainty in the economy and financial markets and it is easy to see why these big companies are being risk averse.
A recent British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) survey seemed to support this mentality, with 75% of companies with more than 250 employees wanting to 'remain' against 53% for small companies. Similar rifts appeared amongst exporters – 76% of EU-only exporters support EU membership, whilst 57% of non-EU exporters support an exit. Overall, the remain/leave split across all respondents was 60% against 30%, with just 10% undecided. Again, this showed a slightly smaller majority than the previous BCC survey, where the result was 63% for 'remain' and 27% for 'leave'.
A YouGov survey published in January paints a similar picture. Interviews with a handful of big private sector firms from the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 found that all but one supported continued EU membership. The 501 leaders of small and medium enterprises however, were split more akin to the general public – 47% to remain against 42% to leave. An earlier poll by the Federation of Small Businesses showed the same split between in and out, with 50.5% of those surveyed saying that EU membership benefitted the economy – a slim majority.
There certainly seems to be a focus on the thoughts of “Big Business” in the media rather than the real driving force behind the economy – the SMEs. Whether the views of such global behemoths have the best interests of Joe Public at heart, or that they should be the basis of any pro-EU argument is another debate. What is clear is that their resolute support of the status quo looks slightly out of sync with the ever-shifting views of SMEs and the general public. In a debate so devoid of facts the question of whose opinion matters can be as important as what the opinions are. After all, businesses will not be doing the voting, the people will.
Tell us what you are thinking! Will the views of big companies affect your decision? What concerns do SMEs face that bigger firms do not? Should businesses be rallying their workforce?
Alex.davies@gmchamber.co.uk
@GMCC_Alex
There has recently been a letter circulating with 198 signatures from 36 FTSE 100 companies stating their support for continued EU membership. Obviously, these companies are all big, high growth companies that hire large numbers of people and trade globally. It is no real surprise that they support Britain's membership of the EU. A vote to remain is the less risky of the two as things are most likely to stay just as they are it would be business as usual. Throw in potential uncertainty in the economy and financial markets and it is easy to see why these big companies are being risk averse.
A recent British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) survey seemed to support this mentality, with 75% of companies with more than 250 employees wanting to 'remain' against 53% for small companies. Similar rifts appeared amongst exporters – 76% of EU-only exporters support EU membership, whilst 57% of non-EU exporters support an exit. Overall, the remain/leave split across all respondents was 60% against 30%, with just 10% undecided. Again, this showed a slightly smaller majority than the previous BCC survey, where the result was 63% for 'remain' and 27% for 'leave'.
A YouGov survey published in January paints a similar picture. Interviews with a handful of big private sector firms from the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 found that all but one supported continued EU membership. The 501 leaders of small and medium enterprises however, were split more akin to the general public – 47% to remain against 42% to leave. An earlier poll by the Federation of Small Businesses showed the same split between in and out, with 50.5% of those surveyed saying that EU membership benefitted the economy – a slim majority.
There certainly seems to be a focus on the thoughts of “Big Business” in the media rather than the real driving force behind the economy – the SMEs. Whether the views of such global behemoths have the best interests of Joe Public at heart, or that they should be the basis of any pro-EU argument is another debate. What is clear is that their resolute support of the status quo looks slightly out of sync with the ever-shifting views of SMEs and the general public. In a debate so devoid of facts the question of whose opinion matters can be as important as what the opinions are. After all, businesses will not be doing the voting, the people will.
Tell us what you are thinking! Will the views of big companies affect your decision? What concerns do SMEs face that bigger firms do not? Should businesses be rallying their workforce?
Alex.davies@gmchamber.co.uk
@GMCC_Alex
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