Business is a force for good, says public

The overwhelming majority of people believe that businesses are ‘good’ for Britain as long as they comply with the law, pay their taxes, and look after their workers, according to a survey of more than 2,000 members of the British public.

The findings, from a survey carried out by ComRes for the British Chambers of Commerce also show that a majority of Britons believe local businesses play an important role in local communities (73 percent).

And more than two-thirds of those surveyed (72 percent) believe that a company’s first priority should be their employees, while only 29 percent believe it should be to their owners and shareholders.

The research is part of the business group’s Business is Good for Britain campaign, which was launched on February 1 in London. The campaign highlights the role of business as a positive force for the UK recovery, success of local communities and individuals.

The key findings were:

• Eighty-two percent of respondents believe businesses that comply with the law, pay their taxes and make a profit are good businesses (65 percent still believe this is the case no matter what sector they are in).
• Seventy-three percent agreed that local businesses play an important role in their local community. Chambers of Commerce believe businesses are at the foundation of their local communities and help to create the wealth which allows them to thrive.
• More than two-thirds of those surveyed (72 percent) believe that a company’s first priority should be their employees, while only 29 percent believe it should be to their owners and shareholders. This highlights tension between different business objectives, with the public clearly less favourable toward business profits than to provision of employment.
• Only 31 percent believe the public sector is better than the private sector at delivering economic growth and jobs, suggesting that most of the British public support the view that the private sector is the UK’s real ‘economic engine’.
• Fifty-nine percent agreed with the statement ‘the UK is no longer a major trading nation’. In fact, the UK is the world´s third-largest exporter of services and tenth-largest exporter of manufactured goods*.
• The majority of people (54 percent) believe ‘businesses make a fair contribution to supporting public services’ – although for people aged between 18-34 this dips to 47percent. This suggests younger people are more disillusioned with the business community.