Light at the end of the tunnel

Published under My Opinion Monday 15 March, 2010

 

A General Election can be a source of dynamic change and fresh thinking, says Lord Digby Jones.
It may not feel like it, but, looking at all the data, house prices, manufacturing output and even High Street sales, the UK Economy has stopped shrinking.
The journey back to positive growth will be bumpy, a bit like driving along most of our pot-holed roads after the snow; and the poor state of our public finances and rising unemployment will continue to affect consumer and business confidence.
But there really is cause to be cautiously optimistic.
The prospect of a general election, televised debates, party political broadcasts and umpteen local canvassers on your doorstep might fill you with dread but don’t let it. Elections can be a source of dynamic change and fresh thinking.
Any new government has got to get a grip, balance the books and bring our public finances back under control. Future foreign investment depends on it.
No matter who wins, they will also have to recognise that future growth and jobs will only come from the wealth creating private sector.
And it won’t just be a case of looking after big business. Today, more than ever, we need to nurture our small and medium sized businesses and create the right conditions to encourage new entrepreneurs to dip their toes in the water.
At the top of the political “to do” list will be getting the banks lending again at affordable rates. Businesses need access to finance to grow.
Then will come the question of taxation. Money will be tight, but if we are to encourage more responsible lending the treatment of equity based lending and debt finance should be the same. Both should be tax deductable!
Competitive tax rates will be so important during the next few years especially for smaller businesses. Anything that can be done to provide incentives and stimulate growth, exports and new jobs should be a number one priority.
Initiatives like the Enterprise Investment Scheme, R & D tax credits and Venture Capital Trusts need to be re-booted. They create too many bureaucratic hoops for firms to jump through and they just give up. Even good ideas fail.
And I do hope a new government will see sense and put a stop to the planned increase on employer national insurance contributions. A tax on jobs at the current time is simply daft when we should be doing everything in our power to preserve jobs and create new ones.
I am an optimist by nature and I have been privileged to see so many fantastic British businesses up and down the country. I want to see them all continue to prosper.
The next 12 months won’t be easy and we will all have hard work ahead of us but 2010 will be better than 2009 and there will be new opportunities around the corner. 

 

A General Election can be a source of dynamic change and fresh thinking, says Lord Digby Jones.

It may not feel like it, but, looking at all the data, house prices, manufacturing output and even High Street sales, the UK Economy has stopped shrinking.

The journey back to positive growth will be bumpy, a bit like driving along most of our pot-holed roads after the snow; and the poor state of our public finances and rising unemployment will continue to affect consumer and business confidence.

But there really is cause to be cautiously optimistic.

The prospect of a general election, televised debates, party political broadcasts and umpteen local canvassers on your doorstep might fill you with dread but don’t let it. Elections can be a source of dynamic change and fresh thinking.

Any new government has got to get a grip, balance the books and bring our public finances back under control. Future foreign investment depends on it.

No matter who wins, they will also have to recognise that future growth and jobs will only come from the wealth creating private sector.

And it won’t just be a case of looking after big business. Today, more than ever, we need to nurture our small and medium sized businesses and create the right conditions to encourage new entrepreneurs to dip their toes in the water.

At the top of the political “to do” list will be getting the banks lending again at affordable rates. Businesses need access to finance to grow.

Then will come the question of taxation. Money will be tight, but if we are to encourage more responsible lending the treatment of equity based lending and debt finance should be the same. Both should be tax deductable!

Competitive tax rates will be so important during the next few years especially for smaller businesses. Anything that can be done to provide incentives and stimulate growth, exports and new jobs should be a number one priority.

Initiatives like the Enterprise Investment Scheme, R & D tax credits and Venture Capital Trusts need to be re-booted. They create too many bureaucratic hoops for firms to jump through and they just give up. Even good ideas fail.

And I do hope a new government will see sense and put a stop to the planned increase on employer national insurance contributions. A tax on jobs at the current time is simply daft when we should be doing everything in our power to preserve jobs and create new ones.

I am an optimist by nature and I have been privileged to see so many fantastic British businesses up and down the country. I want to see them all continue to prosper.

The next 12 months won’t be easy and we will all have hard work ahead of us but 2010 will be better than 2009 and there will be new opportunities around the corner.

15
Mar