Survey finds majority of BPF members believe Brexit will have a negative impact

The British Federations of Plastics has released a survey showing that the vast majority of companies believe that a no-deal Brexit will have a negative impact on their business.

The survey, conducted in December 2018, found that two-thirds of plastics companies do not expect Brexit to benefit their business, whereas only seven per cent of respondents feel it would benefit them.

76 per cent of respondents stated that a no-deal Brexit would have “negative” and “very negative” impact, and 53 per cent are making contingency plans in case it occurs.

63 per cent of plastics companies are expected Brexit to cause significant disruption to their supply chain, while 17 per cent feel it will not.

The top concern amongst respondents was customs and borders delays, as 88 per cent felt this would be an issue, with material supply (78 per cent) and tariffs (77 per cent) also being major concerns.

21 per cent of plastics companies have already lost staff due to Brexit, mostly from non-management technical and shop floor roles, and a quarter of companies believe that Brexit has made recruiting more difficult.

47 per cent of companies are in favour of a second referendum, with 21 per cent against and 32 per cent unsure.

Mike Boswell, President of the BPF’s Brexit Taskforce, said: “Brexit remains a deeply divisive issue to this day. But this data shows our industry would clearly prefer to stick with EU regulations and indicates that the benefits of Brexit, from a plastics manufacturer’s or recycler’s perspective, are hard to see at this point in time. I’m sure our industry will remain positive and adapt to future conditions and ultimately thrive. But as an industry that employs over 166,000 people, we hope that the government looks at this data and thinks hard about how it can end ongoing uncertainty for businesses as soon as possible.”

The survey was conducted with over 100 senior figures from within the plastics and plastics recycling and full results are available here.