UK businesses support EU referendum, insists energy minister
The majority of UK businesses would support the Conservative Party's plan for a referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union, according to energy minister Matthew Hancock.
Speaking exclusively to Sharecast, Hancock, who pushed for the introduction of the Small Business Act in 2008, said: "I think it's very important that we have that EU referendum as two-thirds of businesses support the idea because they can see that Brussels needs to change.
"A lot of business leaders weren't even born the last time there was a referendum, it's right that they get a say now."
A lot of business leaders weren't even alive the last time there was a referendum, it's right that they get a say now.
The Conservative politician, who is defending his West Suffolk parliamentary constituency, said certain norms and administrative regulations surrounding employment, environmental issues and health & safety had not only hampered business prospects, but often led to the closures of smaller firms.
However, Hancock's support for a referendum is one that many industry bodies say could be economically troubling, should the UK withdraw from the EU in its entirety.
The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) director-general John Cridland, who calls himself a "European realist", argued that while he supported the right to a referendum, a reformed EU would be an asset the UK would be foolish to abandon.
“If we are skillful and play our cards right, there are huge opportunities for a better Europe for British business, a Europe that we can sell to the British public,” Cridland said.
Meanwhile, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) argued that export and trade within the EU was "crucial to economic growth". The FSB have campaigned for "exemptions, special measures and lighter regimes for micro-businesses" within the EU, which it acknowledges as a major target for UK exporters.