More than two-fifths of the UK’s small business owners are yet to fully decide whether they want the country to leave or remain in the European Union, according to a snap poll by a large campaigning organisation that represents small firms and the self-employed.

Of the 4,000 members of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) who completed the survey, 42% said they were either undecided about how they will vote in the EU referendum on 23 June or have decided but could still change their mind.

More than half of those surveyed (52%) said they feel uninformed about the referendum and need more information, particularly about the economic impact Brexit would have on the UK (48%), the administrative burden of EU regulation (38%) and the cost of EU membership (33%).

Mike Cherry, policy director of the FSB, said the polling reveals that there is an “information deficit” on the issue. “We need some real basic facts about the impact on small businesses whether we stay in or leave. Members need to know how it [Brexit] is going to affect them if they are employing EU nationals or with regard to any trade they might be doing,” he told the Guardian.

“Now the date is confirmed, it is clearly game on for both sides on this debate. It is crucial that, once appointed, both the remain and leave campaign groups tackle this information deficit ... It’s up to politicians, the media and the FSB to try and help [small business owners] get and understand the facts.”

Among the issues that those surveyed said would influence how they will vote, EU governance (75%) came out on top, with the free movement of people (70%), the cost of EU membership (69%), the administrative burden of regulation (68%) and the economic impact of a vote to leave (64%) also prominent concerns.

In September, a more comprehensive survey suggested that the small business vote in the UK was split on the issue: 47% of FSB members said they would vote to remain in the EU, while 41% said they would prefer to leave and 10% said they were undecided. Two-thirds of small business owners exporting to the EU said they would vote to remain, while 61% of those employing EU nationals from outside the UK said the same.



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