General Election 2024 – small business policies you need to know about

By Small Business Team on Small Business UK - Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs

The General Election 2024 is now in full swing, with a start to campaigns across the country. But what’s in it for small business owners?



We’ve taken a look at the policies, websites and pledges of the seven leading parties. This is what we know so far, but we will be updating this article as new information and manifestos are announced.



Read on to find out about all of the policies or go straight to your preferred parties:




Conservative



Labour



Liberal Democrats



SNP



Green Party



Reform



Plaid Cymru




Conservative



The Conservative Party have not released a formal document of their policies ahead of the General Election. However, the incumbent party have outlined their ‘5 Priorities’ :




Halve inflation



Grow the economy



Reduce debt



Cut waiting lists



Stop the boats




The following are policies found on the Conservative Party website and other media sources:




Chancellor will cut National Insurance Contributions even further if he can ‘afford’ to



Won’t increase income tax, capital gains or corporation tax



Grow the economy to better-paid jobs and opportunity across the country



Create Town Boards in 55 towns across the country, bringing together community leaders, employers, local authorities and the local MP. They will discuss the best way to spend a £20 million fund – and then put it out to local people for their views




Labour



Labour have a ‘Plan for Small Business’, published in November 2023, which can be found here . Some of the policies include:




Legislation to tackle late payments and make companies publish their performance



Scrap business rates – replace it with ‘a fully costed and fully funded system of business property taxation that is fit for the 21st century’



Push for an EU visa waiver for UK touring artists, to help free up travel for artists and supporting services in creative sectors



Setting up new Technical Excellence Colleges around the country to give people specialist skills that small businesses need



‘Transform’ Apprenticeship Levy to give employers more flexibility to train workforce in new and relevant skills. Called ‘Growth and Skills Levy’ – can be used on a greater range of training courses



Small and medium-sized employers who do not currently pay the Apprenticeships Levy will continue to receive 95 per cent co-payments



Labour’s New Deal for Working People – including a ban on zero hours contracts, measures to tackle one-sided flexibility, support for collective bargaining and stronger enforcement of rights and regulation. Ban on unpaid internships outside formal education or training courses




Liberal Democrats



During its party conference in autumn 2023, the Liberal Democrats launched a “Fair Deal” plan , which would aim to reinvigorate and invest in the UK economy and business sector. In its “pre-manifesto” (published in November 2023), they claim: “We will work in partnership with business to offer stability and ensure that we maximise the opportunities for investment, growth and employment across the country.”  



This pre-manifesto offers a broad look at the business plans of the party and covers business as a whole, but there’s still plenty to keep an eye on even as a small business owner. 



A proposed reform of business rates is a key part of the Lib Dems’ plan to revitalise the high street, but this will of course affect small business owners as well. In general, stability is the name of the game here, with the party looking to make it easier for businesses to create new jobs and hire employees. 




Business rates reform



Make it easier to create jobs and hire employees



Introduce a general duty of care for the environment and human rights in business operations and supply chains



A four-stage roadmap to rebuild the relationship with the EU




SNP



The SNP have not launched a manifesto at time of publication, but do have policies on their website around sectors such as agriculture, tourism and the arts.




A return to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for farmers



Will consult on initial percentages of 0.5 per cent for arts projects under £5 million and 1 per cent for those over £5 million, capped at £1 million for any individual project



Working with Scottish Enterprise and Creative Scotland to improve the business support available to creative industries – ensuring a better breadth of expertise for the many different parts of the sector



Support the digital capabilities of artists and creative businesses with a £1 million programme of workshops, mentoring and courses



Calling on the UK Government to work with the EU to deliver free movement for performers, artists, musicians and freelancers. Ensure there are no barriers to those looking to tour and perform in Scotland and the UK




Green Party



The Green Party have been actively discussing policies around small businesses and how they can support them in green efforts. In December 2023, on Small Business Saturday, the party called for the government to offer a support package to small businesses to aid in a green transition. 



This pledge also included: 




An additional £3 billion in Green Transition Grants for small businesses to help them prepare for and take advantage of the opportunities offered by greening the economy 





Assistance for small businesses to decarbonise their transport needs. Independent traders and tradespeople need access to electric vans and other low carbon transport solutions on the same terms as large companies





Support for small businesses to improve employee wellbeing. Measures should include exempting all childcare providers in England from business rates





Reform of VAT to support small businesses and suspension of Covid repayments. The government must reform our VAT system so that it differentially supports smaller shops and businesses compared to larger and online businesses. Likewise, there should be an immediate suspension of Covid loan repayments to provide much needed relief for businesses.




Reform



Reform (formerly the Brexit Party) has a ‘working draft’ of a contract on its website rather than a manifesto, prioritising a high growth, high wage, low tax economy.



In the first 100 days, they pledge to:




Increase minimum profit threshold on corporation tax to £100,000



Reduce the main corporation tax rate from 25 per cent to 20 per cent, then to 15 per cent from year five



Abolish IR35 rules



Increase VAT threshold to £120,000




After that:




Abolish business rates for high street SMEs



Introduce online delivery tax at 4 per cent for large, multinational enterprises



Cut entrepreneurs’ tax relief to 5 per cent



Create SME Enterprise Zones for ‘left behind areas’ with a zero per cent tax for new or existing businesses that are creating jobs



Scrap employment laws ‘that make it risker to hire people’




Plaid Cymru



Again, Plaid Cymru don’t have a formal manifesto document at this stage, but lists the following policies on its website :




Create Prosperity Wales, a development agency focusing on growing small and medium-sized Welsh firms



Expand the role of the Development Bank of Wales and support the creation of a Community Bank to help domestically owned businesses grow their market share



Develop Industrial Innovation Clusters in key areas of the economy



Create a National Innovation Body, replacing the Innovation Advisory Council for Wales and the Chief Science Adviser’s Council to become the pre-eminent body to lead and coordinate the Welsh innovation system, focused on Welsh economic, environmental and societal priorities



Raising business investment in R&D every year until it reaches the UK average and increase Wales’ share of UK public R&D funding




Read more



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