Lancashire votes Leave in EU Referendum: The business community reacts

All 14 of Lancashire's boroughs have voted to leave the European Union in the EU Referendum.

The seaside town of Blackpool returned the largest majority of leave votes in the North West, with 67.5 per cent, whilst Lancaster saw the smallest majority with 51.1 per cent.

BlackpoolLeave: 67.5%Remain: 32.5%

HyndburnLeave: 66.2%Remain: 33.8%

PendleLeave: 63.2%Remain: 36.8%

South RibbleLeave: 58.6%Remain: 41.4%

ChorleyLeave: 56.8%Remain: 43.2%

Blackburn with DarwenLeave: 56.3%Remain: 43.7%

PrestonLeave: 53.3%Remain: 46.7%

It is statistically surprising that all of Lancashire’s boroughs voted leave, although this has been pretty consistent with the results from similar northern areas but the contrast with neighbouring Manchester who are arguably more cosmopolitan and administrative is noteworthy.

Political leaders have a huge job in restoring confidence and healing the country which is clearly divided. I think business leaders need to do all we can to support that process.

British businesses are resilient and, with their characteristic ingenuity, they will weather this storm. It is now beholden on politicians to negotiate a deal with European leaders which preserves the ability of British firms to trade easily with the remaining member states.

Companies do not want to have to worry about losing valued staff.

The IoD will be running a snap poll of its members on what the referendum result means for business. The results will be released for publication on Monday morning.

We are now in uncharted territory and likely to see continuing instability across the economy and political arena for some time to come.

The immediate priority for businesses is to understand what they can do to give comfort and confidence to investors and funders and to start to put a plan in place to navigate the business through the next two years.

Carolyn Fairbairn, director-general, CBI:

The British people’s vote to leave the EU is a momentous turning point in our history. The country has spoken and it’s for us all to listen.

The urgent priority now is to reassure the markets. We need strong and calm leadership from the Government, working with the Bank of England, to shore up confidence and stability in the economy. The choices we make over the coming months will affect generations to come.

Lynn Everson, managing director, Lifeline Language Services:

As an organisation whose members are focused on supporting companies internationally with their language service needs, we are concerned and disappointed by the results of yesterday’s referendum.

We are already facing a record UK trade deficit and an exit from the EU will further feed into that narrative making it even harder for the UK to close to improve its export performance with Europe and the rest of the world.

While it is not the result many businesses wanted, it’s the democratic will of our nation. The Government must move very quickly to stabilise the economy, reassure the markets and shore-up business confidence. The process of leaving the Union will take some time, and the Government should not rush to instigate Article 50 and the formal exit process, while there is so much uncertainty. Ministers must think carefully about our negotiating position while setting out a clear roadmap for establishing a new deal with the EU which remains our biggest market and trading partner.

In the complex task of unpicking the UK from EU regulation and legislation, the Government must tread carefully, keeping if we can a trading relationship with the single market, avoiding dramatic overnight changes and not becoming bogged down to the detriment of making long-awaited and much-needed decisions on projects vital to our future economic prosperity.

The initial impact of the vote to leave the EU may not be felt straight away as we will still likely be full members during the negotiations. There is a risk that we may see investments continuing to be delayed and transaction activity continuing to be put on hold in the face of heightened uncertainty.

Europe is a significant investor in the North West, as our recent UK Attractiveness Survey shows, in particular from Germany and France.

Businesses across the region will also be keeping a close eye on any changes to regulation and to Government policy, particularly around issues such as taxation, EU research funding and potential use of state aid by UK Government to back selected sectors.

It is unclear how far and for how long markets will fall though it is quite possible that markets today will end the day well off their lows. Markets have a tendency to overreact.

The financial markets are sending a clear message today that it could well be bleak, though that is by no means a certainty. Indeed 52 per cent of the electorate believes that the UK's prospects are now brighter. They and their flag bearers should now be listened to.

Mike Cherry, national chairman, Federation of Small Businesses (FSB):

FSB calls on the Government for clarity on what these decisions now mean for business, including how businesses will have access to the single market and the free movement of people and trade.