Support for European Union membership remains strong in the North-east, as three in four business leaders say they will vote to remain in the union.
The figures, revealed in an Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce survey released today (Tuesday), are consistent with previous surveys carried out in February 2016 and September 2015, and the 76% who would vote to remain compares against a national UK average of 54%.
Fifteen per cent would vote to leave, compared with a 37% UK average, and 9% in the North-east say they still do not know how they will vote.
These results have remained fairly stable across the three surveys, despite the national mood of business showing a seven point rise in support for a Brexit (up to 37% from 30% in February) with a corresponding drop in support for the Remain campaign (54%, down from 60% in February).
To date, more than four in five in the region (86%) say that the referendum has had no material impact on orders, sales, recruitment, attraction of investment or total business costs.
This has decreased since February, when 92% said it had had no impact, and in this most recent survey, 12% say that the referendum has had a slightly negative impact on their total costs.
A majority of respondents believe that a “remain” vote would result in no impact to their business.
The greatest change – with only 43 days before the UK goes to the polls – is the proportion of North-east business leaders who say they are unsure of the impact of a vote to leave.
A fifth say they are uncertain how a Brexit would affect their overall growth strategy (20%) and profitability (21%), an increase from February (11% and 16% respectively)
When asked how sure they were of their voting intention, there has been a marked increase in the proportion of “leave” voters who are completely committed, from 24% in February to 42% now.
Russell Borthwick, chief executive of Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce, said: “These findings show that business opinion on membership of the European Union has remained fairly constant in the North-east.
“The contrast with the UK results is perhaps due to the global nature of the trade which drives our economy, although it is concerning that some members are now reporting a negative impact on their costs.
“No matter what the result of the referendum, the Chamber will continue to work to maintain a strong, confident and sustainable business base to ensure a prosperous future for the region.”