General Election 2024
What businesses would like to hear as the nation decides
T e time has come. After months of speculation about when Rishi Sunak would call the General Election, July 4 was named last month as the day the nation will decide what happens next. T e key talking points, campaigns and pledges will
centre on the economy, immigration, the NHS – but what will matter most to the business community? Hard hit over the past few years by the pandemic, rising energy costs and an infl ation rate that rose sharply but is now, fortunately, back to its lowest level in three years, business owners have had a lot to deal with. So what would local businesses like to hear when the
parties send out their message to the country? Stephen Watts, Managing Partner at TC Group in
Northampton, said: “Any incoming government should build on the recent positive news on the economic front
not least with the UK seeing the fastest growth in two years, outperforming France, Germany and the US as well as real wages accelerating faster than any time in the previous 16 years. A strong economy is imperative to enable tax cuts for individuals and businesses, which will help stimulate further economic growth. “T e new government must recognise the important
role the private sector and SMEs play in leading innova- tion, job creation and wealth creation in the country and government policies should incentivise and reward entre- preneurism, not discourage and prevent it. “We don’t need any more red tape either, especially
in relation to the labour market. T e UK already has one of the most fl exible labour markets in the world and any government should think twice before implementing any policies that reduce fl exibility and make it more costly to hire people. T ey should also look at the eff ectiveness of the visa scheme, as one of the most common constraints to business growth is a skills shortage. Businesses prefer small government to big government. “Finally, at the top of the to-do list should be to make
HMRC more accountable and drive-up service levels as continued poor service is having a real impact on SMEs which is totally unacceptable.” Justin Richardson, CEO of Bedfordshire Chamber of
Commerce, said: “With a fairly short election campaign, our political parties need to focus on what matters most to businesses – the key drivers of our economy. “I think the whole of the Bedfordshire business community will be looking for the political parties to
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