LONDON: UK businesses will back Prime Minister David Cameron in his bid to keep Britain in the European Union if he secures a deal that helps the economy, the British Chambers of Commerce said.
Among five key reforms the lobby group identified, Britain needs an opt-out from an “ever closer union” and a “clear and balanced” approach to immigration, Director General John Longworth said. In a letter to Cameron, he also said the common market needs to be improved to benefit services companies, and the U.K. must be protected from some of the EU’s excessive regulation.
“There is now broad agreement across the political spectrum that our relationship with the EU needs to change and, as the euro zone moves away from us, that the status quo is not an option,” Longworth said in the letter. “You will want to guarantee the sovereignty of the U.K. and to secure a settlement which takes into account the U.K.’s economic welfare. If you do that, the tens of thousands of the businesses the BCC represents will be four-square behind you.”
