Scottish independence: Business unfazed by debate

MOST UK businesses have been left unfazed and unaffected by the referendum issue, a business survey shows today.

The independence referendum does not seem to be affecting business. Picture: Malcolm Irving

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) says 90 per cent of the companies responding to its UK-wide survey on the issue report no significant impact on their businesses to date.

“This figure was remarkably consistent. whether businesses were asked about orders and sales, employment intentions, or investment in plant and premises,” the BCC said.

Nine-tenths of the companies said the referendum “has had no substantive impact on their business to date”.

The chamber said the figure was “remarkably consistent”, whether businesses were asked about orders and sales, employment intentions, or investment in plant and premises. Some 14 per cent of companies reporting no impact said that they do not have enough information on the referendum, and 17 per cent said it was “too early to tell” whether the referendum would affect their business.

Of those reporting no impact, some 68 per cent reported that the majority of their trade was from outside Scotland.

John Longworth, director general of the BCC said “Only small numbers of businesses say that the referendum is having an effect, mainly on investment decisions in Scotland itself, which is hardly surprising.”

However, he said the BCC would continue to monitor the debate as “a year is a long time in both politics and economics”.