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A survey of more than 6,000 small business owners by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) found that:
To the question: "Imagine that the referendum on whether the UK should remain a member of the European Union was held today. Based upon the information you know today, how would you vote?"
- 47.0 per cent of members surveyed said they would vote ‘Yes', the UK should remain a member of the EU"
- 40.9 per cent of members surveyed said they would vote ‘No', the UK should NOT remain a member of the EU"
- 10.7 per cent of members surveyed said they were undecided on how to vote.
Mike Cherry, FSB Policy Director, said: "The study attempts to understand current attitudes towards EU membership among our members. This research is a vital starting point in outlining the key issues and areas of concern for small businesses in the EU referendum debate. 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."
However, there were variations within the survey. Exporters to the EU were most likely to vote to stay in the EU (66 per cent), closely followed by employers of non-UK EU nationals; and FSB members in Scotland.
Among members who would currently vote for the UK to remain a member of the EU, the most popular outcome was the transfer of EU powers back to UK. And among those who would vote for the UK to leave the EU, the most popular outcome was improving trade links with rest of the world
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Susie Hughes © Shout99 2015
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