Polls suggest the vote could go either way
With less than 24 hours to go before Britain takes to the polls to decide the fate of the country’s European Union membership, new research by FreeAgent has revealed that the majority of micro business owners are against a Brexit.
The poll of 350 micro firm leaders found that almost three-quarters want the UK to remain in Europe, while more than 70 per cent think leaving will have a detrimental effect on the UK economy.
Just five per cent of entrepreneurs think a Brexit would have a positive impact on their business.
being a partner nation in the EU is hugely beneficial in terms of trade, and I think that’s something that resonates with a lot of our customers, said CEO and co-founder of FreeAgent, Ed Molyneux.
we work with many web-based small businesses who are increasingly selling products and services worldwide rather than just domestically, and I suspect they think a Brexit will create an uncertain future for them.
UK-wide, voting intention polls are currently suggesting that the referendum could go either way. On 22 June, the Telegraph calculated a slim one percentage point lead for the Remain campaign, based on an average of the six most recent polls carried out.
Additional research carried out by Business Advice in May 2016 found that small businesses are soldiering on despite the uncertainty, with some 70 per cent disagreeing with the statement that uncertainty on the referendum result was stopping them from making decisions on the future of their small business.
despite recent comments from Bank of England governor Mark Carney, and constant bickering between the two lobbying organisations, small businesses appear to be remarkably unperturbed by the Brexit debate, said Business Advice editor, Hunter Ruthven.
whether the UK votes to remain or leave on 23 June, leaders at the helm of micro and small businesses have told us fairly emphatically that it’s not holding back decision making, he added.
