SMEs split over European Union vote

Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) appear to be split over whether or not to remain in the European Union.

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has released a report that reveals the federation members’ views on the UK membership of the European Union.

The findings reveal that 47% of SMEs would vote to remain in the EU, while 40.9% said they would vote to leave, with 10.7% as yet undecided.

In terms of seeing the EU as beneficial to the UK economy, 50.5% said there was a benefit but only 34.9% saw a benefit specifically to their own business.

Should the UK decide to leave, 41.3% felt that this would have a negative effect on their business, with 33.6% of respondents expect no impact at all should the exit happen.

One in three of those members surveyed said they did not feel sufficiently informed about the EU from a business point of view.

Unsurprisingly, given the concern on how withdrawal might affect the UK’s ability to trade, the SMEs most likely to vote to remain in the European Union are those who export to the EU.

Others most likely to vote to stay in the EU are those who employ non-UK EU nationals and those FSB members based in Scotland, London and Northern Ireland.

Mike Cherry, FSB Policy Director, said: “The study attempts to understand current attitudes towards EU membership among our members.

“Regardless of what a firm’s current position is, there is a shared message that small businesses feel they lack clear, impartial information on which to form their views.”

The Prime Minister David Cameron has said the government will hold a referendum by 2017.

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