The Institute of
Directors has called on the UK and EU to compromise to chart a way forward on
Brexit while urging both to improve no deal planning efforts, as newly
published survey figures display the ‘impossible situation’ facing
business leaders.
A clear majority of
IoD members have repeatedly expressed concern that a disorderly Brexit would
hurt their organisation.
Faced with choosing
between this and a further Article 50 extension in a summer poll of 950
business leaders however, respondents were slightly more considered. A
slim overall majority (51%) said that no deal would be more negative for their
organisation, though this was significantly above the 32% who believed further
delay could have a worse impact.
With no deal still a
possibility in a few weeks’ time, the IoD has renewed its call for targeted
financial assistance to help small firms’ Brexit preparations, with new
analysis underlining that directors of smaller organisations were notably less
likely to feel fully prepared than their larger company counterparts.
Nearly a third of
IoD members surveyed were engaging with relocation as part of their Brexit
contingency planning, with 14% indicating they had already moved operations or
were in the process of doing so. By comparison, 9% of directors overall said
their organisation was exploring onshoring operations to the UK in connection
with Brexit.
Commenting on the
figures, Allie Renison, Head of Europe and Trade Policy at the Institute of
Directors, said: “Firms are facing an impossible situation as they try to
prepare in advance for the possibility of simultaneous sweeping changes on an
unprecedented level. The idea of leaving the EU without a deal in place is
certainly the bigger concern, but the prospect of repeated delays with no clear
path forward is far from an appetizing prospect for enterprise.
“If Government wants
the country to be ready, businesses urgently need more targeted help in the
form of financial assistance to enable them to access the specialist advice
they need. While efforts to inform and prepare have stepped up, there is a huge
job to do and generic guidance naturally struggles to address firms’ differing
unique challenges. Both the UK and its European counterparts must also step up
clear communication about the full raft of changes that no deal would
bring for business, as many key areas are still light on detail. After all,
it’s companies who will have to make the new systems work, not just public
sector infrastructure.
“Crucially, both UK
and EU politicians need to strain every sinew to find a deal, extension or not.
Compromise is not a dirty word, and neither side wants to be managing the
fall-out of no deal for the foreseeable future. This is as much about the jobs
and livelihoods of those who would be most affected as it is about politics and
procedure.”
