MD's Blog: Preparing for the EU referendum debate

As we head into the summer months, the political debate is heating up and the date in everyone’s mind is the EU referendum on 23 June.

This marks the culmination of the debate, and business people, as well as the rest of the population, will be watching on the edge of their seats as the votes get tallied up.

We have just undertaken our largest ever survey of businesses in the South West, where over 750 businesses told us their views on the EU debate.

The results, which you might have seen on BBC Points West and ITV West Country, sent a message from the South West business community, with surveyed firms favouring remaining in the EU over leaving by a ratio of 2 to 1.

Over a third of businesses told us that they needed more information before making an informed decision, and the key to the referendum is just that – an informed decision. Our role in the run up to June is to provide impartial information to both our members and the wider business community.

We’ve held large scale events, such as the Big EU Referendum Debate as part of Bristol Festival of Ideas, which attracted over 400 people and provided a platform for leading voices from both sides of the debate, including prominent Labour MP Chuka Ummuna and Liz Bilney, the CEO of Leave EU.

Our policy team have also been out on the ground for months now meeting businesses across the South West of all sectors and sizes to see how the EU affects their day to day trade. So as the debate reaches boiling point in the run up to the vote, we’ll have the facts, figures and stories to help people make an informed decision.

Putting the EU to one side, which is very difficult given daily headlines on the matter, our research has found that the South West economy stands in good stead despite global headwinds.

Almost two thirds of firms tell us that they are confident for the year ahead, and the latest data shows that our exports buck the national trend, with a £1.4 billion increase over the past year.

We’ve seen plenty of good news in the last couple of months,  but the future direction of long term prosperity hinges on a certain date in June.