In the second part of our feature about the likely impact of a hung parliament according to business owners, we listen to the views of those who are unsure about the impact of a hung parliament.
In part one we heard from those who thought such an electoral outcome would be disastrous for business.
The Conservatives, traditionally the party with which small businesses have the greatest affinity, have repeatedly warned about the dangers of such an outcome, which would likely usher in some sort of proportional representation-orientated reform and more coalition governments in future.
However, the following SME owners, while not exactly overjoyed at the prospect of a hung parliament and the ensuing wrangling over the next government’s composition, don’t necessarily believe the Tories when they raise the spectre of “indecision and weak government”.
A coalition could be the ideal outcome would be a form of national government where two of the parties unite, as each would have a moderating effect on the other and together they would command wide enough support to be able to cut back the bloated public sector
Peter Ainsworth, EM Applications MD
Peter Ainsworth, managing director of EM Applications, is keen for Labour to be ousted, but thinks it might actually be better for the country if the Tories don't have to work on their own.
“The key issue as a business owner is the global competitiveness of the UK, which depends very much on the levels of tax, especially employment related taxes," he says. "Whether or not we have a hung parliament is less important than whether or not Brown and Ball remain influential, as with them around the focus will be on tax increases whereas it needs to be on spending reductions.
"In fact, it could be that the ideal outcome would be a form of national government where two of the parties unite, as each would have a moderating effect on the other and together they would command wide enough support to be able to cut back the bloated public sector. We just need the Liberals to declare that they will not work with Brown or Balls.”
Martin McDonald, MD of business development agency Big On Results, thinks that the media reaction, more than the hung parliament itself, is more likely to perpetuate the very thing it envisages:
“The media has to shoulder a large responsibility for the frenzy of talking the economy down that led the world into a deep recession – I recall one gleeful BBC reporter saying, “so we are now officially in recession, and now the definition of a depression is…”, clearly the words of someone who felt safe in their job – and now, similarly, the political-positioning jockeys need to be responsible with our fragile economy.
“What we have heard so far ranges from intelligent to belligerent debate and it is of no value for the reds and blues to scaremonger about a hung parliament, tipping the balance back into recession. This is rubbish, putting the cart before the horse, party before this great country – and before businesses like ours that drive it! What they haven’t dared discuss is the effects of a Lib Dem landslide a la Blair!”
Jeff Knight, MD of Tonic Marketing Solutions, also believes the Tories’ and media’s response to the prospect of a minority government amounts to scaremongering. “And it could yet backfire if it does actually create panic,” he says. "Whatever the outcome – which businesses can’t control – entrepreneurs should be prepared for a bumpy ride.
“SMEs can’t control the outcome of the election, so should look inwards. There is a saying which compares companies that make things happen to those that watch it happen, or worse still, wonder what happened.
“Therefore they must get closer to their customers and find ways to add value and outwit the competition. They need to stay sharp and find ways to be more effective and efficient to thrive in what will be a challenging economic period.”
Anna Thomas, co-owner of Factoring Quote UK, also believes the dangers are blown out of proportion. And she feels the Lib Dems’ apparently inevitable involvement in a coalition might not be a bad thing:
"The Liberal Democrats, who would inevitably be required to help make up a coalition government in the event of a hung parliament, do seem to have policies aimed at helping SMEs, so I’m not overly concerned about their influence per se.
“I think there is an awful lot of press scaremongering on the issue, but this is not without foundation, and my main concern over a hung parliament is weak government. This could lead to compromise and a lack of a clear strategy on the economy, which in my view would put the fragile economic recovery at risk."
Ciaron Dunne, co-founder of Broadband Genie, on balance thinks a hung parliament would be an undesirable outcome for UK Plc, but believes there are potential upsides:
“I find this a really tough question. On the one hand a hung parliament could be fairer and more representative and so get more decisions right.
“On the other hand (the nightmare), a lack of strong leadership would cause instability and a loss of confidence. What our business wants most of all is a sustained period of steady growth and confidence. Better the devil you know, so fingers crossed someone wins outright.”
