Business leaders in Cumbria are calling for calm in the wake of the EU referendum result.

Rob Johnston, chief executive of Cumbria Chamber of Commerce, was disappointed that Prime Minister David Cameron chose to step down almost immediately.

He said: “What we were asking for was some stability. We really don’t want a Conservative Party leadership battle right in the middle of all this – we need space to put a plan together.

“The decision to leave the EU has been made. Now we need the machinery of government to get a plan in place ahead of the critical negotiations [on leaving] with the EU.”

He said the challenge for Cumbria was to ensure that, when the UK does leave, the Government provides the funding the EU has supplied in the past.

He added: “Cumbria has been a net beneficiary of European funds. It has done very well out of Europe.

“We have to make sure that we get access to some of that funding through other routes.

“If we can do that, and we can remove some of the European bureaucracy around that funding, we can deliver better value for money.”


Brian Richardson Brian Richardson, chief executive of H&H, the Carlisle-based auctioneering to printing and insurance group, said it would be “business as usual” following the referendum vote.

He said: “There is going to be a period of uncertainty. A key part of our business is agriculture, and agriculture has received considerable sums from the EU. Although politicians say those payments will continue, nobody really knows.

“There are a lot of politicians who believe we can be independent outside the EU. They need to show how that can work and how we can have a robust economy.”