Good article about Big Business and the EU

Re my post of yesterday, from today's City AM Forum:

ONE OF the biggest myths in UK politics is that the free-market and Eurosceptic [sic] wings of conservatism are beholden to the interests of big business. Many mistake a shared desire for a lower tax and regulatory burden for a common agenda.

Yet in reality, some of the biggest divergences in economic opinion occur between these two groups. Established businesses often favour state-led "industrial strategies", with "government investment" into "strategically important industries", and expensive state-led infrastructure projects like HS2 – which pro-market types often oppose.

Further, big business tends to be far more sanguine about our relationship with the EU. Large companies with established HR departments can perhaps afford the EU red tape and social legislation that affect small businesses operating at the margins of existence. Large firms are often more interested in the ability to shape laws, protecting the state grants and "support" that help their businesses.

As such, a Single Market with harmonised regulations and a centralised bureaucracy is less unappealing to multinationals. Many of their leaders have been vocally supportive of continued membership. The Confederation of British Industry's (CBI) report on British EU membership must be seen in this context…