British businesses want to stay in the customs union and the single market after Brexit, according to a Harvard survey conducted by Ed Balls. The former shadow chancellor interviewed 80 small and medium-sized businesses in Britain about the type of deal they wanted and has published the findings in a report from the Harvard Kennedy School. He found that “the overwhelming majority” with an opinion on the customs union wanted to stay a member because they believed that “the potential gains from Britain negotiating its own trade deals elsewhere in the world cannot offset the substantial disadvantages of leaving the customs union”. In addition, a “large majority” wanted to stay a member of the single market, which Theresa May ruled out in her Lancaster House
An "overwhelming majority" of small and medium-sized British businesses want to retain the European Union's customs arrangements and stay in the single market after Brexit, according to a survey of 80 businesses led by former shadow chancellor Peter Sands and banker Ed Balls. Balls said businesses believed the benefits of the UK negotiating its own trade deals were outweighed by the disadvantages of leaving the customs union. Furthermore, the businesses felt that securing a free-trade agreement with some access to the single market was inferior to remaining a full member.