In or out? Businesses give their verdicts on referendum

REMAIN

* CBI Northern Ireland:
The CBI, the Northern Ireland Food and Drink Association and the Northern Ireland Independent Retail Trade Association released a joint statement, arguing that the United Kingdom should stay in the European Union.
 

Nigel Smyth, Director, CBI Northern Ireland said: “Every credible business survey has demonstrated majority support by Northern Ireland’s private sector employers for remaining within the EU. Being in the EU provides a strong platform for Northern Ireland to attract investment, and to export our goods and services, helping to create jobs and improve living standards. We judge the benefits of being in the EU at around £2,700 to £3,300 per family per year. A decision to leave the EU would create enormous uncertainty putting at risk the potential to attract more investment from a lower Corporation tax rate.
“The CBI asked professional services firm PwC to independently examine what would happen in the event of two different EU exit scenarios up to 2030 [and] the economic evidence was clear - leaving the EU would cause a serious shock to the UK economy, with a potential cost of £100 billion and nearly a million jobs by 2020; with negative echoes that could last for many years after that. Even in the best case there would be a big hit to the UK economy.”
*Michael Bell, Director of the Northern Ireland Food and Drink Association said: “A Brexit will undoubtedly alienate the European consumer towards our produce and there is no guarantee that any subsequent UK government would not seek to solve budgetary challenges in the future by reducing rural farm support in favour of health welfare or education.”
*Glyn Roberts, Chief Executive of the Northern Ireland Independent Retail Trade Association said: “Being in the EU means customers benefit from greater choice and lower prices with no import taxes added onto prices in the shops.”
* John Major and Tony Blair:
The former Conservative and Labour prime ministers were in Northern Ireland last Thursday and warned that leaving the EU could will mean “throwing all of the pieces of the constitutional jigsaw into the air”. They said a Brexit could: undermine the peace process in Northern Ireland, trigger a second independence referendum in Scotland and damage the UK’s relationship with the Republic of Ireland and lead to the reintroduction of a hard border.
LEAVE
* The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP):
On February 20, the DUP announced that it would recommend a vote to leave the EU. Party Leader Arlene Foster said: “The Democratic Unionist Party has always been Eurosceptic in its outlook. At every stage in this European negotiation process we had hoped to see a fundamental change to our relationship with Europe.
“In our view we see nothing in this deal that changes our outlook. Therefore we will on balance recommend a vote to leave the EU.
“Importantly however the decision on whether the United Kingdom should remain in or leave the EU is fundamentally not one for parties but for every individual voter across the nation to determine.”
She continued: “As every voter has the opportunity to express a view we fully expect that DUP members and voters will hold a range of differing personal views as to what is in the best interests of the United Kingdom. They are fully entitled to do so during what will be a momentous political debate about the direction of travel our nation chooses.
“We want to make sure that the case made for the United Kingdom outside the EU, is a case made for a United Kingdom that values its friends, welcomes them and seeks to co-operate positively and fairly with them.”
* Business for Britain:
Business for Britain is an independent campaign calling for a leave vote. Run by business, the group believes that leaving the EU will leave the UK “free from unnecessary, restrictive and financially punitive regulation, able to make our own trade arrangements and to better invest our wasted EU ‘tax’. 
Their Northern Ireland Chairman is Jeffrey Peel, who has run his own Lisburn-based consulting firm, Quadriga Consulting Ltd, for 14 years.

Nine business leaders have joined Mr. Peel in supporting Business for Britain NI in a personal capacity. They are: Roy Bolton, owner of The French Rooms Restaurant, Bushmills; Alan Brunside, MD of Burnside Communications; Stephen Ellis, Director of AEJ Business Solutions, Belfast; Robin Guthrie, MD of Strategic Public Affairs company Cheraton, Belfast; Adrian Huston, Tax Consultant at Huston & Co. Tax Consultants and Accountants, Belfast; Andrew Nagele, Senior Partner at Nageles LLP, Belfast; Roderick Oliver, owner of Feild ‘ Family pet care services, Lisburn; Bernard Sparkes, MD of Tubby Brands Ltd, Ballymoney; and William Wright, founder of WrightBus, Ballymena.

NEUTRAL
* Ulster Farmers Union:
UFU President Barclay Bell said: “Our position has always been that we would not tell our members how they should vote. We believe that in the absence of a compelling reason to leave the EU the status quo is better for agriculture – but the 12,000 farming families we represent will make up their own minds.”