An independent survey released today has found that Over three quarters (77%) of small British businesses who expressed their opinion are in favour of the proposed high-speed rail project (HS2)
The survey, conducted by pollster YouGovStone, sampled over 500 senior individuals in businesses from a range of different sectors. The majority of these (91%) were small businesses with between five and 49 employees
The business people polled are representative of all businesses of this size by British region, and therefore reflect the opinion of British businesses as a whole. This stands in contrast to other surveys that are more limited in their geographical scope.
Professor David Begg, Director of the Campaign for High-Speed Rail, said: “These results show, once and for all, that the overwhelming majority of small British businesses want high-speed rail. In such challenging economic times, businesses clearly recognise that the project is the step-change they need.
To secure the success of Britain’s economy, everyone agrees that we need to boost regional economic output. High-speed rail is a sure-fire way of helping small regional businesses to achieve this.
If high-speed rail goes ahead, it will mean increased regional investment in the short-term. In the longer-term, it will mean revitalised regional economies and a Britain that is really ready to take on the global economic giants.”
Mark Jeffries, Managing Director of Camel Concrete Ltd in West Yorkshire, said: “In this climate, local businesses want to have the chance to succeed and grow. With high-speed rail, we have a project that will deliver real benefits to local companies – attracting outside investment and giving us access to more markets. This will help to unlock potential for local employers, and result in jobs for local people. As a business person, high-speed rail therefore has my total support.”
Of the small businesses polled, 39% did not express an opinion on this question, choosing either ‘Undecided/need to know more/Don’t know’ or ‘Neither in favour nor against it’.
The poll was conducted by YouGovStone 14 – 17 June, 2011.
Five hundred and fifty two senior individuals in businesses of five or more people were polled. These businesses are located across the UK, including Wales and Scotland, but not including Northern Ireland.
The poll released by the Federation of Small Businesses at the end of August claimed that nine out of ten businesses did not support HS2. This poll only surveyed businesses in Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire – counties that are along the first stage of the proposed route where some of the strongest opposition to the project has been seen.
A recent economic report by Volterra estimated that high-speed rail is needed to help create one million jobs in eight core cities and their surrounding areas outside the South East. The report can be viewed online here.
The case for high-speed rail is backed by communities and businesses from across the country. You can learn more about the Campaign for High Speed Rail here: www.campaignforhsr.com.
For all of the news in Southam go to http://southamnews.org
Southam News: It's News for Southam
No comments:
Post a Comment