Election 2015: Anticipation builds for Yorkshire businesses

Today is the day when the UK will find out who will be governing the country for the years to come, but as the votes are being counted there still isn’t a clear favourite among the main parties.

As for Yorkshire, the Labour party still appears to hold more parliamentary constituencies, but this number will have dipped after the release of a business letter signed by more than 100 of the country’s most senior business figures, many of whom are based in Yorkshire, which backs the Conservatives over the economy.

Over the past four weeks Bdaily has tried to discover what businesses in the region are hoping to happen in the 2015 general election, and to see if the they want a government that caters for the working people or the rich and powerful.

As well as looking at theturbulent property market in Yorkshire several weeks ago, there has been an overwhelming response about from business owners who want to see a government support small businesses and budding entrepreneurs.

As Deborah Stock, Direct Carers Ltd in Beverley, Humberside, told Bdaily: “The make-up of an entrepreneur can be as diverse as the products and services they sell and without the “get up and have a go” spirit of these type of people our world would come to a grinding halt!!”

And Carolyn Frank, owner of Libby Butler Jewellers in the market town of Helmsley, North Yorkshire, said: “Small businesses are creating economic recovery in the UK and it is important that we receive practical help from the government, that helps us to grow. They should listen less to their spin doctors and more to organisations like the Federation of Small Businesses to develop policy, and do less electioneering and more listening to voters.”

However, one thing the region’s SMEs can seemingly rely on is seeing the benefits of the government’s pledge to double the country’s export value, therefore as the export market place is such an important asset to Yorkshire businesses, it is vital that this pledge continues.

Furthermore, the HS2 rail network between Leeds and London has been hotly discussed amongst business leaders in yorkshire as well as throughout the north of England, with many believing the entire programme should be scrapped to concentrate on creating a Northern Powerhouse, which can compete with the big cities of the South.

Successful entrepreneur, Shane Quigley, CEO of Earth Bathrooms, told Bdaily: “The government should be investing in joining up northern cities with more efficient rail and road infrastructure…If we were to super-connect the North, we could foster a second London that would seriously boost not just the North but the UK’s economic position globally.”

Whatever the outcome is of the 2015 general election, Bdaily will continue to examine how the next government will affect Yorkshire SME’s.