Campbell urges Scottish business community to ‘get off the sidelines’ in EU Referendum debate

Sir Ming Campbell, who is leading the European Movement in Scotland campaign to keep the UK in the EU has urged Scottish businesses to ‘get off the sidelines’ and make their voices heard on the benefits of EU membership in the run up to EU Referendum.

Commenting that the business community has a major role to play in the debate, Lord Campbell of Pittenweem, urged it to stand up and be counted or risk seeing the UK sleepwalking to Brexit and the considerable negative economic impacts this will have.

With polls so close he also noted that Scotland could have a key role to play in the outcome of the referendum.

The European Movement in Scotland has been registered as a group campaigning for a ‘Remain’ vote and has also launched its new campaign website – www.europebiggerpicture.uk.

The call from Lord Campbell comes as the Scottish Chambers of Commerce described the economy as on a ‘knife edge’ between growth and recession and the prospects for the economy are ‘unclear’ in its latest quarterly survey.1 The latest official figures also show that unemployment in Scotland rose by 20,000 between December and February to stand at 171,000.

Treasury analysis on the cost of an EU exit says the UK’s national income could be 6% smaller - the equivalent of £4,300 a year per household - by 2030.2

More than 330,000 Scottish jobs are dependent on EU exports3 and almost half our international exports to the EU, valued at £11.6 billion.4 In addition, according to research by Ernst and Young, Scotland has consolidated its place as the second biggest UK destination outside London for foreign direct investment, supporting thousands of jobs. Many of those companies investing here are doing so due to our membership of the 28 nation EU, the largest single market in the world.

Lord Campbell said: “It is vital that Scottish businesses get off the sidelines and ensure that they raise their concerns over an exit and highlight what the bigger picture of our EU membership means to them.

“As part of the largest single market in the world, our businesses are able to trade freely across the 28 nations of the EU and we are a focus for inward investment, in part due to our membership of the EU. However, the Scottish Chamber of Commerce has already highlighted how ‘fragile’ the Scottish economy is and withdrawal from the EU will damage our economic recovery.

“With the vote so close across the UK, Scotland could hold the key to the outcome of this referendum and it is vital that all who recognise our future as EU members stand up and be counted.

“The business community has a key role to play here and would urge those who benefit from and see our future as being members of the EU not to sit on the sidelines and see us sleepwalking to Brexit, but to stand up and be counted.”