General Election 2024: 7 Key Policies From Political Parties' Manifestos For Small Businesses

With the UK General Election fast approaching on 4th July, I have listed below seven key policies from political parties’ manifestos from England, Wales, and Scotland with their promises to small businesses, entrepreneurs and the self-employed.

Conservative Party

Conservative Party General Election manifesto states, “We will back the risk takers and entrepreneurs who help drive our economy. Small and medium-sized businesses are the lifeblood of our economy and we are making the UK the best place in the world to start or grow a business.“

“We have great foundations: world-class talent, an internationally envied legal system and a business-friendly regulatory environment. “

7 Key Policies For Small Businesses:

• Abolishing the main rate of National Insurance for the self-employed by the end of the next parliament.
• Taking another 2p off National Insurance Contributions for employees which means the party will have cut NICs from 12% to 6% by 2027.
• The party’s long term ambition is to scrap National Insurance entirely “when financial conditions allow”
• Commitment to not raise corporation tax and capital gains tax.
• Fund 100,000 “high-quality apprenticeships” by “curbing the number of poor quality university degrees”.
• “Business rates support package worth £4.3bn over the next five years to support small businesses and the high street.”
• Improve access to finance for SMEs including through expanding Open Finance and by exploring the creation of Regional Mutual Banks.
• Launching a review of the nighttime economy in England, looking at how to reverse the decline in pubs and clubs and how to make our towns and cities great places to go out.

Labour Party

Labour Party General Election manifesto states, “Labour’s plan for economic growth has been developed for all UK businesses.”

“…small firms, entrepreneurs, and the self-employed face unique challenges. That is why, in partnership, Labour has developed a plan for small businesses – the lifeblood of communities and high streets across the country.”

7 Key Policies For Small Businesses:

• Scrap business rates and replace it with a system of business property taxation that is “fairer for bricks and mortar businesses”
• Retain a permanent full expensing system for capital investment.
• Retain annual investment allowance for small business, and “give firms greater clarity on what qualifies for allowances to improve business investment decisions”.
• Cut energy bills for small businesses, create commercial opportunities for them and deliver security with a “cheaper, zero-carbon electricity system” by 2030.
• Make the UK “the best place to start up and scale up” by reforming the British Business Bank to better support SMEs in regions across the UK and unlocking the supply of patient capital for technology-intensive, early stage businesses.
• Support creative SMEs, and prevent the loss of local cultural spaces through “Space to Create”, which Labour describes as “the first national cultural infrastructure map”.
• “Find the right balance between fostering innovation in AI while ensuring protection for creators and the ongoing viability of the creative industries.”

Liberal Democrats

Liberal Democrats General Election manifesto states, “We aim to make Britain one of the most attractive places in the world for businesses to invest. Only in partnership with responsible, sustainable businesses can we tackle the cost-of-living and climate crises, and create the wealth to invest in healthcare, education and other essential public services. “

“Private enterprise is the principal engine of growth and prosperity in the UK. We will support it by creating a stable business environment with smart regulation and investing in skills, infrastructure, research and innovation. In return, we expect businesses to commit to promote skills, equality and good governance, and to support their local communities. “

7 Key Policies For Small Businesses:

• Tackle the problem of late payments by requiring all government agencies and contractors and companies with more than 250 employees to sign up to the Prompt Payment Code, making it enforceable.
• Cut income tax by raising the tax-free personal allowance.
• Negotiate “free and simple” short-term travel arrangements for UK artists to perform in the EU, and European artists to perform in the UK.
• Boost funding for cultural and creative projects by applying to participate fully in Creative Europe.
• Establish creative enterprise zones to “grow and regenerate the cultural output of areas across the UK”.
• Promote creative skills, address the barriers to finance faced by small businesses, and “support modern and flexible patent, copyright and licensing rules”.
• Reforming capital gains tax to “close loopholes exploited by the super-wealthy by adjusting the rates and basing them solely on capital gains while increasing the tax-free allowance from £3,000 to £5,000, on top of a new tax-free allowance for inflation, and introducing a relief for small businesses”.

Green Party

Green Party Of England and Wales General Election manifesto mentions, “Small and medium-sized business are the lifeblood of our economy and our communities. We want to see them supported to play a key role in the green economy of the future, and to create new, quality jobs and training opportunities.”

7 Key Policies For Small Businesses:

• Campaign to bring the Prompt Payment Code into law, bar late payers from public procurement contracts, and mandate the Small Business Commissioner to investigate potential instances of poor payment proactively, instead of only when a complaint has been made.
• Commitment to not increase corporation tax.
• Increase in minimum wage to £15 an hour for workers of all ages, with costs to small businesses offset by reducing their National Insurance payments through increasing the Employment Allowance to £10,000.
• Protect the night-time economy through a review of planning regulations and “giving local authorities the powers to ensure there is space for cultural life”
• Increase in minimum wage to £15 an hour for workers of all ages, with costs to small businesses offset by reducing their National Insurance payments through increasing the Employment Allowance to £10,000.
• £2bn per year in grant funding for local authorities to help businesses decarbonise.
• Regional mutual banks to be set up to drive investment in decarbonisation and local economic sustainability.

Reform UK

Reform UK General Election, ‘Our Contract With You’ states, “British businesses are under huge pressure from high rates, high taxes, red tape, energy costs, skills shortages and a government that doesn’t listen. Our high streets are blighted by empty properties. Business talent is moving abroad. “

“Reform UK will back risk takers and wealth creators. We will make sure that Britain is open for business.”

7 Key Policies For Small Businesses:

• Income tax-free threshold increased to £20,000.
• Increase minimum profit threshold for corporation tax to £100,000
• Increase VAT threshold to £150,000.
• Cut entrepreneur’s tax relief to 5%.
• A new tax on employers who employ foreign workers.
• Legislate to “scrap EU regulations with immediate effect”.
• SME enterprise Zones “for left-behind areas” with “a period of zero tax for new or existing businesses that are creating jobs”.

Scottish National Party

Scottish national Party General Election manifesto was launched on 19th June 2024.

7 Key Policies For Small Businesses:

• Rejoin the European and re-enter the EU single market. The SNP says business benefits of rejoining the EU include “cheaper and quicker trading”, “more funding for farming, fishing and other rural sectors”, “access to workers from across the EU”, and “access to the Creative Europe scheme, supporting culture sector cooperation and boosting economic potential of our creative industries”.
• “Mitigate the harm of Brexit on productivity by reviewing immigration rules and expanding shortage occupation lists, so businesses have access to the workforce they need.”
• Devolve employment rights and the minimum wage to “scrap exploitative zero hours contracts, ban ‘fire and rehire’ practices and take action to close the gender pay gap”.
• Provide sustainable funding for farming.
• Full devolution of tax powers “to create a fairer system that protects public services and invests in our economy”.
• Strengthen incentives to purchase cleaner vehicles.

Plaid Cymru

The Welsh Political party General Election manifesto mentions, “The small business sector is the backbone of the Welsh economy. We want to support economic conditions in which Wales develops its own range of locally owned medium sized companies, which further develop Welsh supply chains and investment: retaining value created within the Welsh economy and leading to improved employment opportunities in high quality, high paying jobs.”

7 Key Policies For Small Businesses:

• Reverse reductions in business rates support for small businesses by the Welsh government.
• Work towards a target of 75% of Welsh public sector spend being with companies located in Wales.
• Reform non-domestic rates (business rates) to “establish a system which better supports our small businesses”.
• The UK should re-enter the European single market and customs union “at the earliest opportunity, in order to mitigate the impact of Brexit on Welsh business and reduce overheads and administrative costs”.
• “Close loopholes which allow holiday homes to pretend to be legitimate lettings businesses, so that we can ensure that genuine self-catered accommodation businesses can be protected”.
• Implement an apprenticeship living wage.
• Guarantee a high-speed broadband connection to every home and business, including setting up a Welsh Broadband Infrastructure Company to improve digital connectivity in rural areas.

START-UP SUPPORT

When asked if they knew about any government start-up support, a resounding 75% said they were not aware of any. When prompted, 36% said they felt Start Up Loans would be relevant for them. See my post on the best support for your start up and small business funding here 

YOUR THOUGHTS

What’s your thoughts on a the General election political parties’ manifestos and what they promise fro small businesses? Are you thinking of creating a start-up, are you looking for a more fulfilled career? Is there anything listed here that you are pleased to read? Let me know what you think.