Businesses back new deal with the EU
UK businesses overwhelmingly support the UK renegotiating its relationship with the European Union, according to a poll conducted for the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC)
The BCC said 60 per cent of firms surveyed believed repatriating powers from Brussels to Westminster would provide benefits for the UK economy. BCC director general John Longworth said Britain's economic outlook would be "substantially if meaningful EU reform were to take place".
But the bad news for eurosceptics was that the majority believed withdrawal from the EU would harm British business. The poll appears to support David Cameron's position of renegotiating British membership to secure more favourable terms. However, the Prime Minister has promised a renegotiated deal will have to be put to the British people in a referendum in 2017 if the Conservatives win the next general election.
The poll comes in the same month that a study commissioned by London Mayor Boris Johnson showed that leaving the EU would create hundreds of thousands of jobs in London, compared with staying in an unreformed union.
However, the best result for London's economy would be staying within a reformed EU, according to the study. The European Council's new president Donald Tusk, has said he will take on UK concerns and work for a reformed EU.
"No reasonable person can imagine the EU without the UK. I cannot imagine it myself. I have talked about it with David Cameron. He put forward many proposals for reforms and I am sure with a reasonable framework of politicians we can reach an agreement", the Polish Prime Minister said.