NEWS25 September 2014

Brand Britain shaken after referendum

News UK

UK — While one fifth of people ( 21%) think the British brand has been damaged after the referendum, most Britons see the result as positive for Scotland ( 63%) and Britain ( 59%) according to an ICM poll immediately after the vote.

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The Scots however were less positive about the outcome, and were more than twice as likely to believe that it was bad for Scotland ( 37%).

And while a significant minority thought the British brand had suffered, more than a quarter ( 27%) thought the Scottish brand had been harmed. Londoners were most concerned about the impact on business of the result.

One third ( 33%) thought it had damaged the Scottish brand, and more than a quarter ( 27%) said the British brand had been harmed. Scots were less concerned: just 16% believed that either the Scottish brand or the British brand had been damaged.

Gregor Jackson, research director, ICM Research said: “A 10 point margin might have provided a definitive result on election day, but evidently not all consumers feel as confident about the impact of the outcome given the closeness of the margin. The British public, in particular those south of the border, see an impact on business and brands – both Scottish and British. Scotland’s financial sector looks likely to be the hardest hit.”

One fifth ( 22%) said ongoing uncertainty about Scotland’s future will make them less likely to invest or save with a Scottish based bank, building society or other financial services company.

The value of the pound had fallen in the weeks leading up to the vote when the Yes support was building. But following the No vote it rallied. On Friday 19th September, following the vote, the FTSE 100 share index rose 0.27%, or 18 points, closing at 6837.92.

Also RBS, which had said it would move its headquarters to England if Scotland voted for independence, announced it was staying in Scotland following the No vote.

Jeremy Cook, economist at World First told the BBC: “The obvious risk to the currency markets was a yes and that would have caused a big sell off. Now the markets will go back to concentrating on the fundamentals of the UK economy.”

@RESEARCH LIVE

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