Leaving the European Union could spark the loss of tens of thousands of jobs in East Midlands Liberal Democrat Bill Newton Dunn said today.

Analysis of figures from a YouGov poll revealed around 4286 businesses in the region could face closure if Britain withdrew from the EU.

It could mean job losses of up to 114,320 as companies battle with life outside the world’s biggest single market.

Bill Newton Dunn MEP said:
“These figures are a stark reminder of the importance of EU membership for businesses and the jobs they support in the region. Put simply: it’s in Europe, in work.
“UKIP and many Tories who say we should withdraw from the EU have some difficult questions to answer about how these businesses would be replaced.
“As the party of ‘in’, Liberal Democrats believe our focus should be on sustaining economic recovery and creating more jobs in the region.

“That means reforming the EU to make it easier for local businesses to expand their exports, both to Europe and the rest of the world.”

ENDS
Notes to editors:

A YouGov poll published on 1st November 2013 found that 6% of the 1024 businesses surveyed said they would close if Britain left the EU. Another 7% said they were not sure if they would remain open. The full results of the poll can be found here:
http://cdn.yougov.com/cumulus_uploads/document/e8grrr4xt3/YG-Archive-Business-For-Britain-Results-120913-B2B-sample.pdf

The number of businesses that could close was calculated by applying the results of the poll to regional business population estimates from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/business-population-estimates-2013

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