ONLY four per cent of Scottish manufacturers believe that exiting the European Union would benefit the UK economy and business, a survey has revealed.
The survey, conducted by Henderson Loggie and fellow independent accountancy firms in conjunction with Bank of Scotland and parent Lloyds Banking Group, signals even greater support for continuing membership of the huge EU free trade zone in Scotland than in the UK as a whole.
In the UK as a whole, while the survey also signalled strong support for remaining in the EU, 10 per cent of manufacturers believed that leaving the single market would benefit business and the economy.
A survey published last week by the Federation of Small Businesses also showed significantly greater support for continuing membership of the EU in Scotland than elsewhere in the UK, ahead of the referendum on the issue promised by Prime Minister David Cameron by 2017.
This research showed that about three in five of the FSB’s members in Scotland would vote to remain in the EU if the referendum were held now.
The 59.9 per cent favouring a vote to remain in the EU was much greater than the 25.7 per cent of FSB members in Scotland preferring to leave the single market. Other members were undecided, did not plan to vote, were not eligible or declined to give a view.
In contrast to the decisive overall view in Scotland, there was little difference between the proportions of FSB members in England that would vote to remain in, and opt to exit, the EU, with 45.1 per cent preferring to stay and 43.1 per cent wanting to leave.
The Henderson Loggie survey shows that, in spite of the overwhelming view among manufacturers that leaving the EU would not benefit business and the economy, a majority of respondents would still like to see changes to the terms of the UK’s membership of the free trade bloc.
The survey found that 56 per cent of Scottish manufacturers thought that continued membership of the EU should see the terms renegotiated, indicating dissatisfaction with current arrangements.
This was a slightly smaller proportion than the 59 per cent in the UK as a whole voicing such a belief.
The survey, conducted during the summer, confirms that the eurozone represents the most popular market for those Scottish manufacturers that export.
The research is based on information from 404 companies, 48 of them based in Scotland.
A scenario in which the UK as a whole voted to leave the EU and people in Scotland opted to remain in the free trade bloc has been suggested widely as a likely trigger for a second referendum on Scottish independence.
A poll published earlier this month by Survation showed that, excluding those who were undecided or would not say, 51 per cent of the UK public would vote to leave the EU, with 49 per cent preferring to stay. In Scotland, 51 per cent would vote to remain in the EU, according to the Survation poll.
The Henderson Loggie survey also shows that 74 per cent of Scottish manufacturers believed their business would grow over the next 12 months, with only 11 per cent anticipating a decline.
In the UK as a whole, 76 per cent of manufacturers anticipated growth over the next 12 months and only seven per cent expected their business to shrink.
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