• Swindon & Wiltshire Economy
• Thursday May 23 2024
• Author Name: Peter Davison

Election 2024: Parties will need to compete for the votes of millions of small business owners, says FSB

Political parties will have to fight to win over the UK’s 5.5 million small business owners – that’s the message from the Federation of Small Businesses.

Responding to the Prime Minister’s announcement that a General Election will take place on July 4, national chair Martin McTague, said: “Small business owners and self-employed people across the country will be looking for which party puts forward the most compelling pro-growth, pro-business policies to stimulate the economy and encourage entrepreneurship.

“The hard-working voters running the UK’s 5.5 million small firms are a large and motivated section of the electorate. A further 16 million voters are employed by small businesses.

“There will be fierce competition for their votes at this election, and those competing will need a convincing plan to bring down the cost of doing business, support small businesses to grow, and create the right conditions to encourage new businesses to start up. As the campaign begins, each party will need to put forward a clear small business offer or manifesto.”

Meanwhile the CBI, which represents the UK’s biggest companies, said the next government would have to work closely with businesses.

Chief executive Rain Newton-Smith said: “This General Election needs to be about how our political leaders will get the UK economy firing on all cylinders and deliver sustainable growth for the benefit of our society.

“Whoever forms our next government can’t tackle these momentous challenges alone – they will have to partner with business to harness the insights, innovation and optimism needed to deliver real and lasting change.

“Right now, too many businesses and households still face rising costs which delay investment decisions and dampen consumer spending.

“Our members want to see politicians having grown-up conversations about how we foster the investment we need to have a labour market which delivers higher living standards, to accelerate our transition to net zero and make the UK an attractive place to run and grow business.

“It’s critical that these issues that will affect the UK’s long-term growth prospects are reflected meaningfully in the debate over the next six weeks.”

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