Small businesses are in a state of “exasperation” as Brexit paralysis keeps important issues off the political agenda, a leading business figure has said.
Speaking on a visit to the North East, Federation of Small Businesses national chair Mike Cherry said that the ongoing Brexit debate had led to political paralysis in the 海角视频 which had transferred to many businesses holding back on investment.
He added that Brexit had also meant that important issues for the business community - such as late payment, business rates and other rising costs - had slipped off the agenda.
And as rumours continue to swirl over whether a deal can be reached, he urged politicians in the 海角视频 and in Europe to find a way past the current impasse.
He said: “There’s an element of almost exasperation rather than anything else. Our members were almost split 50-50 at the referendum and, remain or leave, they now just want to get on with this.
“They’ve been marched up the hill twice already and don’t want to be marched up a third time. They need clarity around what they’ve got to do.
“The quarterly indices that we survey our members on has now shown five quarters of negative territory for the first time ever since that started to be produced in 2010. They want to be getting back to some sort of normality where they can start to have confidence in investing in their businesses again.
“Everything seems to be on hold in so many places, whether it’s investment in business or local authorities investing in whatever they are providing in local hold- it’s all on hold.
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“Nothing else is really happening on the ground any more. Our survey shows that in employment intentions, in export opportunities - everything is either grinding to a halt or dipping down and that’s not good for local communities.”
Mr Cherry said the most important for small businesses remained late payment, which causes huge problems - and even business failure - to tens of thousands of small firms each year.
He called on the Government to take action on the issue, including the swift replacement of Small Business Commissioner Paul Uppal, who stepped down at the end of last week over an alleged conflict of interest.
Mr Cherry said the FSB also wanted to see the Government move to reform business rates in the expected November Budget, as well as raising the National Insurance allowance for businesses creating jobs and working with people in hard-to-reach groups.
Mr Cherry’s visit to the North East comes as efforts continue to reach a deal.
Meanwhile a new report has warned that pressures on the public purse could leave the Treasury unable to prop up struggling industries in the event of a no-deal Brexit.
In a new report, the Institute for Government said that the Government will be forced into “impossible choices” about which businesses and industries to protect, set against a backdrop of “steeply deteriorating public finances”.