ENTREPRENEURS DEBATE THE NEW COALITION GOVERNMENT
As entrepreneurs up and down the country watched the TV coverage and waited for the election result in May, we don’t think WorkLife were alone in hoping for a clear cut election result.
One entrepreneur, Tom Hulme, a design director at IDEO, the global design consultancy, told The Telegraph that the prospect of a coalition government was unsettling. But the 33 year-old could see the upside. “It’s equally a danger and an opportunity. There’s some volatility and uncertainty and that often fosters behavioural change in consumers,” he said.
“The sorts of industries that would worry me most are regulation- heavy. Energy, financial services, the questions around the trust funds. If I were making an investment decision, I would make it contingent on it not being too dependent on regulatory shifts.”
Members of the Institute of Directors’ (IoD) Young Directors’ Forum were asked by ‘Your Business’ about their reaction to the election and what they want from a new government.
Michelle Leavesley, 38, is a director at Citydesk Sport, an agency providing specialist business planning support for sport and leisure facilities. She thought it would be “unwise” to set up a new business until the new government’s policies were “crystal clear”.
She said: “The Olympics are fast approaching and the community benefits that we have the potential to unlock in terms of a boost in national participation figures and improved health will be reliant on the priorities defined by government, their view on the quangos that we work with and their experience of the sector.
“As we do not yet have a clear idea of who is running the Government, we do not know which rulebook we are playing by. That will make clients nervous and potentially delay key projects, which is not good for business.”
Jason Wouhra is a director at East End Foods, which supplies ethnic foods. He thinks Britain has “further economic woes” to come and that a coalition government may lack the “decisiveness the economy requires”.
He says the election result will have an impact on his plans. “It is government policy that determines where the investment will go. We are a family business in the process of redeveloping the HP Factory in Birmingham.
“Every bit of assistance that government policy can provide - be it taxation policy or legislation - helps us to provide the 300 jobs we are in the process of creating and, in turn, make our hotel and conference centre a success.”
Nicola Fleet-Milne, 32, is managing director of FleetMilne Residential, a residential sales and lettings company. She said she was “excited at the thought of a coalition government”.
“I am setting up a business anyway and it certainly won’t stop me doing so. It appeals to me that a Tory government pledges to make Britain ‘the easiest and the best place in the world to set up and grow a business’,” she said.
Clive Bawden, 39, is business development director at Catalyst Corporate Finance in Birmingham. He remains bullish about his prospects and those of his clients. “Good entrepreneurs can make money in any situation, good or bad,” he said.
“The issue is whether we discourage too many people from getting up and trying something new if all that meets them - increasing taxes for employing people, 50pc top rate taxation for them and a potential rise in capital gains tax on exit - acts as a disincentive to becoming an entrepreneur.”
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