Parties announce manifesto pledges
Posted on in Business News , Political News
The main political parties have released their full manifesto ahead of the 2015 General Election, setting out their proposals.
The ActSmart Election Centre, powered by ACS, outlines the main pledges to help support businesses below.
Labour
Below are the relevant Labour pledges. For the full document, please click here.
Employment
- Banning exploitative zero-hours contracts.
- Setting a five year target to raise the minimum wage and encouraging sectors, including retail, to pay higher wages by driving productivity.
- Introducing Make Work Pay contracts, with tax rebates to firms that sign up to become Living Wage employers in the first year of a Labour Government.
Business
- Cut and freeze business rates for more than 1.5 million small business properties.
- Freeze energy bills until 2017 and ensure that small businesses are not rolled over onto more expensive tariffs thout their consent.
- Stronger requirements for large firms to report on their record on late payment, including the action they have taken to compensate their suppliers, and action to stop unfair charges to join or stay on a firms' list of suppliers.
- Establish a Small Business Administration to provide a voice for small business at the heart of government, with a remit to ensure that regulations are designed with small firms in mind.
- Reform Local Enterprise Partnerships to give businesses a say over growth strategies and priorities.
- Continue to support Small Business Saturday.
Lending
- Introducing a market share test for the banks and at least two new challenger banks.
- Introducing a British Investment Bank and supporting a network of regional banks.
High Streets
- Communities will be given new powers to tackle business types that are clustering on high streets. Councils will be given powers to require businesses to apply for planning permission.
- Whilst this policy is currently focused on fast food and betting outlets, it could also apply to convenience stores or off trade premises clustering in a particular area.
Conservative
Below are the relevant Conservative pledges. For the full document, please click here.
Employment
- Employees working 30 hours on the National Minimum Wage will not pay Income Tax on what they earn. This law will be applied from the first Budget after the General Election and new legislation will be passed to allow Personal Allowance to automatically rise in line with the National Minimum Wage.
- Further increases in the National Minimum Wage over the next Parliament, and suggest it would be over £8 by end of the decade. They have also stated they will take further action to tackle non-payment of minimum wage and exploitative zero hour contracts.
- Businesses will be encouraged to pay the living wage "wherever they can afford it".
- Give employees working for a company that employs 250+ people the opportunity to take three days a year to volunteer on full pay.
Business
- Major review into business rates by the end of 2015 to ensure that from 2017 they properly reflect the structure of our modern economy"
- Conduct a major review into business rates. They have stated that they would deliver the rates review by the end of 2015 for implementation in time for the 2017 revaluation; which is earlier than currently planned in the Government's consultation document.
- Highlighted their track record on small business rate relief schemes and retailer reductions but have not made a commitment to continue them.
- Extending the amount of money local authorities can retain from business rate revenue within their local area.
- Help smaller businesses take on new workers through the Employment Allowance. This was introduced in the last Parliament and provides a £2,000 reduction to employers' NICs.
Lending
- Treble their Start Up Loans programme during the next Parliament, which aims to give 75,000 entrepreneurs the opportunity to borrow money to set up their own business.
High Streets
- Support Business Improvement Districts and other forms of business-led collaboration on high streets - which will give more say to local traders on issues such as minor planning applications, cleaning and parking. They also make a commitment to secure the future of 3,000 rural Post Offices.
- Tackle aggressive parking enforcement and excessive parking charges. In relation to parking, they reference the support they have provided to local shops on this already, but now look to challenge private parking providers.
Liberal Democrats
Below are the relevant Lib Dem pledges. For the full document, please click here.
Employment
- Ask the Low Pay Commission to find ways to raise the National Minimum Wage, without damaging employment opportunities.
- Improve enforcement action and clamp down on abuse by employers.
- Establish an independent review to consult on how to set a fair Living Wage across all sectors.
- Extend Shared Parental Leave with an additional ‘use it or lose it' month to encourage fathers to take time off.
- Committed to completing the ongoing review of Business Rates and will prioritise the reforms to lessen the burden on small business and to ensure high streets remain competitive.
- Committed to introducing Land Value Tax (LVT), which would replace Business Rates in the longer term and could enable the reduction or abolition of other taxes.
- Extend the Business Rates review to ensure it considers the implementation of LVT, as well as interim reforms, such as Site Value Rating that could be completed within five years.
- Reform business tax to ensure it stays competitive and prioritise small and medium-sized enterprises for any business tax cuts.
- Reform the Regulatory Policy Committee to remove unnecessary business regulation.
- Grant new powers to Local Authorities to reduce the proliferation of betting shops
UKIP
Below are the relevant UKIP pledges. For the full document, please click here.
Business
- Cut business rates by extending small business rate relief.
- Give local people control over planning, by giving them the final say on major planning decisions, such as out-of-town large-scale supermarket developments, through the use of binding local referenda.
- Prevent energy companies charging extra for customers who use prepayment meters, who do not pay by direct debit, or who require paper billing.
- Enforce the minimum wage and reverse the Government cuts in the number of minimum wage inspectors in both England and Wales.
- Not to ban zero-hour contracts, but introduce a legally binding Code of Conduct.
High Streets
- Encourage every local authority to offer at least 30 minutes of free parking in town centres, high streets and shopping parades.
Green Party
Below are the relevant Green Party pledges. For the full document, please click here.
Employment
- Increase the National Minimum Wage to £10 by 2020.
- Encourage small businesses to pay the living wage by reducing employers' National Insurance in the longer term to 8%.
- End exploitative zero-hour contracts.
- Reduce employment tribunal fees.
- Make equal pay for men and women a reality.
- Provide an apprenticeship to all qualified young people aged 16-25 who do not have one and want one.
High Street
- Give local authorities planning powers to support local shops and businesses through planning policies including business conservation areas, ensuring basic shops are available within walking distance in all urban areas, and restricting the power of supermarkets.
- Repeal the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).
Have the final manifesto announcements changed your mind about which way to vote? Take part in our poll to see how small businesses are planning to vote in the 2015 election.