Michael Gove has questioned the efforts of the EEF to poll its membership ahead of the Brexit vote
Michael Gove has questioned the efforts of a manufacturing trade body to survey its members over Brexit.
In a Brexit select committee hearing, Gove took EEF director of EU affairs Fergus McReynolds to task over surveys of its membership.
The EEF was one of several trade bodies to back a Remain vote, but Gove said that some efforts saw the trade body poll as few as one in 10 members.
“How could you be certain that a self-selecting sample of just 10 per cent of members was actually a representative sample of what the manufacturing sector believes?” Gove asked.
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McReynolds insisted the EEF's sums were "robust", adding that work was ongoing to identify areas of EU regulation that manufacturers find particularly pressing.
McReynolds was accompanied by Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry executive director Virginia Acha, who told MPs her sector needed to be ready “on day one” of Brexit.
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Quizzed on the merits of a quickie divorce from the EU, Acha said her sector is: "not at liberty to say we'll take our time, or do this quicker. We have to be ready on day one."
"Patients are relying on us to make sure we're right from day one."