Partner Article

Less than 1 in 5 business leaders back leaving the EU without a deal

Top business leaders working across a range of UK business sectors believe that leaving the EU without a deal would stifle growth and have a negative impact on UK plc, according to the findings of a new study.

Almost 500 directors took part in a survey by elite business network In Touch, with less than one in five (17.9 per cent) saying they were in favour of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

More than half (52 per cent) stressed the importance of Prime Minister Boris Johnson securing some form of deal before the current October 31 deadline. Meanwhile, 27 per cent were concerned that there wasn’t enough time left to agree a deal that worked for both sides.

Although the majority of those surveyed (70 per cent) stated that they had carried out risk assessments on the potential impact of Brexit, almost half (49 per cent) still expressed serious concerns about the outcome it would have on their businesses.

When asked about future growth, most business leaders (38 per cent) predicted that their organisation’s growth would stagnate in light of Brexit. However, 22 per cent felt leaving the EU could see untapped opportunities for growth.

The vast majority of directors (64 per cent) voted remain in the 2016 EU referendum compared to 22 per cent of Leave voters.

And despite all the political twists and turns over the past three years, a total of 88 per cent said they would still stick by their original voting decision.

Oliver Tarpey, Head of Marketing at In Touch said: “With the current Brexit deadline fast approaching, our findings have shown that there is a strong preference from business leaders across a range of industries to secure a deal in the ongoing negotiations.

“There’s still a lot of uncertainty about what will happen, and we likely will not see any change for quite some time. However, it is vital that the government acknowledge there are serious concerns from many business leaders, as evidenced in our member survey, that a No Deal Brexit could negatively impact the UK economy.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Anna .