Member Article

Micro-businesses ‘unsatisfied’ with Conservatives one year on

Exactly one year on from the 2015 general election, new research has found that only 14% of micro-businesses are satisfied with their treatment by the Conservative government.

The findings are part of new research conducted by Crunch Accounting into how successful the government’s micro-business policies have been since they won a majority on 5 May 2015. In his Small Business Manifesto launched a week before the election, Cameron hailed himself the “minister for small business and enterprise,” promising to cut £10bn of red tape, deliver a meaningful review of business rates and provide targeted support for SMEs.

More than a third (35%) of decision makers in micro-businesses feel unsatisfied with the work and policies introduced to support the country’s smallest businesses. More than half (51%) reported feeling ambivalent about the government’s policies. Just 2% feel ‘very satisfied’ with Mr Cameron’s performance throughout the year.

The research also found that just 15% of business owners feel current debate in politics fairly represents their needs and concerns – while nearly a half (43%) said that political debate doesn’t reflect their day-to-day business challenges whatsoever.

Darren Fell, CEO of Crunch Accounting, said: “One year into the Conservative government’s term in office and it is clear that the micro-business community is continuing to be side-lined when it comes to policy making and representation at a government level.

“As an online accountancy firm specialising in the needs of micro-business owners and freelancers, we hear their concerns on a daily basis. The message that continues to come through is that politicians need to start paying attention to the needs of the UK’s micro-business community – after all, they are the backbone of our economy.”

The research findings follow another report conducted by Crunch in the run up to the election, which found that more than a quarter of small business leaders said they would not hire any of the political party leaders if they applied for a position in their company.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Crunch Accounting .