85% of businesses say ‘Better Together’ on Scottish independence debate
WE are ‘Better Together’ – that’s the message taken by a leading UK Chamber of Commerce after 85% of businesses in a major national survey on Scottish Independence said that Scotland should remain within the UK.
Commenting on the results of the independent survey of 2,400 Chamber of Commerce members nationally, Dr Ian Kelly, the Chief Executive of the Hull and Humber Chamber of Commerce and himself of Scottish descent, said:
“If the business communities of our great United Kingdom have their way we are undoubtedly and overwhelmingly “better together”.
“For over 300 years our United Kingdom has built, often through business invention and trade, first an Empire and now a Commonwealth that has both civilized the modern world and helped bring global prosperity.
“Whilst there are always some faults to work on at home in our too centralised, too London centric United Kingdom, we must never forget the enormous achievement this great family of nations has achieved by uniting together. Now, after three centuries of success to try and turn many of our family and friends into foreigners through this divisive attempt to “Balkanise Britain” is frankly rather frightening and one we are pleased to see is strongly opposed by the vast bulk of the wider UK business community”.
With just over four months to go until Scotland votes, Hull and Humber Chamber as part of a wider British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) survey is today commenting on the results of this major survey of business opinion surrounding the Scottish Referendum debate. The independent survey of 2,400 Chamber members in England, Wales and Northern Ireland examines the impacts, opportunities and risks perceived by businesses in the rest of the UK. The survey also explores how non-Scottish businesses would react to a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ vote on September 18th.
Key findings from the survey:
The majority of businesses outside of Scotland want Scotland to remain part of the UK
- The majority of businesses surveyed (85%) said that Scotland should remain within the UK
- Only 11% of firms said that Scotland should become an independent country
- If Scotland votes to remain part of the UK, almost half of businesses (49%) believe that the current division of power should remain the same
- Exactly a quarter of businesses (25%) said that the Scottish Parliament should have more power if Scotland remains part of the UK, but a fifth (21%) also said it should have less
More than half of firms outside of Scotland do not see any opportunities with independence
- Two thirds of businesses (63%) say no new opportunities would arise for their businesses if Scotland votes for independence
- Only 6% of companies believe that potential tax savings (due to different tax rates between Scotland and the rest of the UK in the case of independence) would be an opportunity for their business
- Firms identified the highest risk as trading across borders should Scotland become independent, (26%), and identified future currency arrangements as the most important issue (47%) for their business
A third of firms outside of Scotland would like a formal currency union between the UK and Scotland if Scotland votes for independence
- Just over one third of businesses believe a formal currency union would be in the best interests of the UK if Scotland became independent (35%)
- More than a quarter (28%) said Scotland should create its own currency if it votes for independence, 18% said it should join the Euro and 8% said they it should retain Sterling but not join a formal currency union
