UK business leaders want EU ties prioritised, IoD survey finds

More than half of UK business leaders are pushing the government to make repairing its relationship with the European Union a top economic priority, according to a new survey by the Institute of Directors.

The poll, which captured sentiment from hundreds of company directors across Britain, found that 57% want closer EU ties placed at the front of the government’s trade agenda. That’s a striking number — and it reflects just how much the post-Brexit friction is still biting.

What directors are saying

The findings come at a moment when Labour is quietly trying to reset relations with Brussels without reopening the Brexit debate itself. It’s a delicate balancing act. Business leaders, it seems, don’t have much patience for the tightrope walk.

The IoD’s data showed particular concern about border delays, regulatory divergence, and the ongoing difficulties in hiring skilled workers from EU member states. These aren’t abstract complaints. They’re costing companies time and money every single week.

“Our members are pragmatic,” said an IoD spokesperson. “They’re not asking to relitigate Brexit. They want workable arrangements that let them get on with doing business in the world’s largest single market next door.”

The cost of distance

Since the UK left the EU’s single market and customs union at the start of 2021, trade in goods with the bloc has faced additional checks, paperwork, and compliance costs that simply didn’t exist before. Services trade — which accounts for roughly 80% of the UK economy — has also suffered, with many professionals losing automatic rights to work across EU borders.

Small and medium-sized businesses have been hit hardest. Larger firms had the resources to adapt. Many smaller exporters just stopped selling to Europe altogether.

Still, the government’s room to manoeuvre is limited. Any move that looks like a return to EU rules risks a political backlash from Brexit-supporting factions. So progress has been incremental at best.

What comes next

The IoD is calling for a veterinary agreement to ease food and agricultural trade, a mutual recognition deal for professional qualifications, and a youth mobility scheme that would allow under-30s to live and work between the UK and EU more freely.

None of these are politically simple asks.

But the pressure from the business community isn’t going away. With UK GDP growth sluggish and inflation still squeezing margins, directors are running out of patience for diplomatic caution. The survey found that 43% of respondents rated the current state of UK-EU trade relations as either poor or very poor — up from 38% in a similar poll conducted last year.

Whether the government moves fast enough to satisfy them is another question entirely. The next round of UK-EU summit talks is expected later this year, and business groups like the IoD will be watching closely to see whether warm words finally translate into something concrete.