The CBI: David Cameron's unwavering ally in EU referendum

The confederation may hold some of the UK's biggest exporters, but does its opinion count in an era of corporate scandals and "fat cat pay" rows?

There was never the slightest doubt that the CBI would back Britain remaining a part of the European Union. For all the talk while David Cameron was conducting his negotiations that the employers' organisation was in favour of remaining in a reformed union, it would not really have mattered had the prime minister come back from Brussels with a blank sheet of paper: he was always going to have the CBI onside.

Related: CBI member survey reveals huge support for remaining in EU