
Can the Tories count on the business community for support?
From ex-prime minister David Cameron, who resigned in 2016 due to his anti-Brexit stance to Theresa May who was unable finalise a Brexit deal and stepped down in mid-2019, the conservative party hasn’t exactly been defined by strategic strength recently. Today, the unpopular Boris Johnson steers the ship – with his ongoing delays over brokering a Brexit deal doing little to help UK businesses prepare for any outcome adequately.No longer the ‘party for business?’
Party leaders give their “two-cents” on the future of UK business
Despite the official party manifestos not being available yet, the leaders have taken to the annual Confederation of British Industry conference to let businesses know what their plans are. Here’s what we know so far:1. Boris Johnson – Conservatives: Protecting employers?

- General tax cuts
- Cuts in employers’ national insurance
- Increase employment allowance to £4,000
- Cut in national insurance (£1,000 max) for 500,000 + businesses
- R&D Tax Credit rate to increase (12% to 13%)
- Structures and building allowance increase (2% to 3%)
- Plan to ‘Brexit’ by January 2020 to give businesses “certainty”
Surprises:
- Postponing cuts to corporation tax
- Instead, give priority funding (£6bn) to institutions like the NHS
2. Jeremy Corbyn – Labour: Stimulating a “green” economy?

- Create a climate apprenticeship economy
- Enable the training of 80,000 people per year
- Industries include renewable energy and sustainable construction
- Funded by the apprenticeship levy and Labour’s Inclusive Ownership Funds
- Offered to school leavers and workers looking for a career change
- Tackle ‘poverty pay’
- Ensure large companies pay “fair share” of tax
Surprises
- The business sector will see “better investment” under Labour
- Create a “better-educated” workforce
- Better infrastructure including full-fibre broadband
- Corporation tax will be “no higher” than 2010 rates
3. Jo Swinson – Liberal Democrats: Stay in the EU and the “middle ground”

- Wants UK to remain in the EU for economic stability
- Claims to represent the “party for business”
- “Middle ground” between ‘pro-Brexit’ conservatives and ‘1970s’ labour
- Says Brexit in any form will be bad for the UK
- Businesses stand a better chance of future success if UK ‘remains’
SMEs weigh in…
Kris Ingham – Founder & CEO, Rejuvenation Water: I will be voting for the Conservatives. The landscape, to operate an SME in, over the last couple of years, has been challenging (to say the least). One of the main contributors towards this has been the political uncertainty and, in particular, the uncertainty with Brexit. Should Labour or the Lib Dems come to power, this uncertainty will only be exacerbated with further referendums.Share this story