Banbury: Chamber of Commerce poll reflects mixed reaction to EU in-out vote

The majority of Banbury Chamber of Commerce members think Britain should remain in the European Union, though some businesses think they may end up better off if Britain leaves the EU. 

In a recent poll, 61.9% of the members voted for Britain remaining a member of the EU, with 38.1% in favour of leaving. When asked if they thought their businesses would be better or worse off by leaving the EU, 54% said they thought they would be better off, while 45.24% said they would be worse off.

Malcolm Nutt, chairman of the Banbury Chamber of Commerce, said: “The feeling about staying in the European Union was pretty strong, although members are obviously less sure about the effects if it was decided that we should leave. The mixed reaction is accounted for by the fact that some of our members trade locally and others deal directly with EU countries, so there is a wide variance of opinion.

“I think the result shows just how difficult the decision will be for people in business if and when we get to an in-out referendum.”

Members who thought businesses would be better off by leaving the EU felt that savings from Britain’s payments to the EU could benefit them more if the money was made available to British firms and that there would be great benefits from having less red tape. 

Those who thought they would be worse off were those companies who traded directly within the EU or with other companies which were linked to the EU business scene. They thought that they would be worse off because of higher export costs when dealing in Europe.