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Business News Debate will go to wire


The West Midlands is the UK’s most euro-sceptic region – with Brexit backers and Remain supporters virtually neck and neck as the referendum date edges ever closer. A major new survey issued by the British Chambers


Happy second birthday, Sutton!


They say an elephant never forgets – and Sutton, West Midland Safari Park’s young African calf, will always remember his second birthday. Elephant keepers at the Park


decided there was only one birthday present Sutton would appreciate this year — a birthday cake made up of mounds of his favourite food. Keepers called upon local Beaver Scouts for help and within half an hour the cake, (made up of elephant feed, bread and fruit), was complete and ready for the birthday boy and his mum, Five.


of Commerce (BCC) shows that 45.2 per cent of West Midlands businesses would vote to stay in the EU, whilst almost as many (44.8 per cent) would vote to leave if the EU referendum were held tomorrow. A number of respondents, 9.7 per cent, were undecided. Overall, 54 per cent of UK


On average, 59 per cent of West Midlands-based


businesses felt that they had a good or complete understanding of what a ‘remain’ result would mean for their organisations with 36 per cent reporting little or no understanding. However, there was greater uncertainty on what a


businesspeople say they will vote to remain, with 37 per cent voting to leave. However, the ‘leave’ vote is now seven per cent higher than it was in the last BCC survey, which was conducted in February. The BCC said that divisions had emerged between the


‘As the EU referendum campaign enters the final straight, the race for the business vote has clearly tightened’


two sides, with those trading with other EU markets the most likely to want to remain, with those who do not more likely to want to leave. Dr Adam Marshall, BCC acting director general said: “As


the EU referendum campaign enters the final straight, the race for the business vote has clearly tightened. “Although a clear majority of the businesspeople we


surveyed continue to express a preference to remain in the European Union, the gap between ‘remain’ and ‘leave’ has narrowed significantly.” Paul Faulkner, chief executive of the Greater


Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, said: “These statistics paint a picture of a divided West Midlands business community. Compared to the national statistics, the West Midlands business vote is a much closer call.”


‘leave’ vote would mean for UK businesses, with 51 per cent of West Midlands-based businesses reporting they had little or no understanding of what a Leave vote would mean for their businesses versus 44 per cent reporting good or complete understanding of the implications of Brexit. Mr Faulkner added: “This highlights the high levels of uncertainty still out


there on the impact of the EU referendum. “As a result, the Greater Birmingham Chambers of


Commerce are continuing to work hard to deliver unbiased information and facts on what the EU Referendum means for businesses in our region. We are continuing to deliver our EU Referendum Series of events on key topics of interest to the business community, and are providing a number of briefing documents and infographics on our website.” The Chamber is holding a ‘Global Perspectives on the


EU Referendum’ event on 8 June at the offices of Squire Patton Boggs. The event will look at how businesses and investors outside of the UK view the referendum debate and how a ‘Brexit’ might – or might not – impact on trade. The Chamber has also made a number of EU


referendum briefing papers available on its website (www.greaterbirminghamchambers.com)


10 CHAMBERLINK June 2016


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