Monthly Archives: May 2010

Should government have a focus on growing new businesses?

Can government help start businesses?During the latest recession as skilled or senior professional people suffered redundancy, many decided to start their own businesses. Some escapees from the crash of the City actually became Investors into young businesses.

With the huge cuts to public spending now being implemented there will undoubtedly not only be direct job losses, but with contracts being cancelled and bought-in consultancy slashed, there will be massive collateral damage to the private sector as well.

This could be an opportunity to help some of the affected become self-sufficient and start their own businesses. Where else will they find a new job with the mayhem that is about to hit the jobs market?

There will be a wonderful pool of talented yet frustrated ex-employees that will be keen to make a new life of self-employment rather than face the despair of applying fruitlessly for a dwindling supply of suitable jobs. Surely now is the perfect time to help them achieve this.

However, the announced cuts already talk about reducing the regional development funds and I can’t see any attention being given to helping start-ups or growing businesses.

I think the new government is missing a huge trick here. This is the perfect opportunity to provide a focus on young businesses. Producing a programme that encourages entrepreneurs to grow their own companies and in turn delivering growth to the UK.

 

Why must a hung parliament mean doom for business?

Politicians in a hung parliamentWell let’s first look at the terminology “hung parliament”. It is a term that is designed to send shivers down your spine. Hung, drawn and quartered, a hung jury, hung from the highest tree.

It provokes the public into a sense of unease, if not outright terror. The danger is that this sense of doom can translate into a self fulfilled prophecy with less consumer spending as the public starts to gird their loins against the terrifying consequences of politicians having to put aside party self-interest in order to work together for the good of the Nation.

Yet need it really be like that? Apparently we are paying a good level of salary and additional benefits in order to attract the brightest of people to be MPs. People who say they put the interest of the Nation before all else. Yet we are fully expecting them to act like unruly gangs in a school yard, destroying the play equipment and breaking the school windows.

Shouldn’t we instead insist that they act like the intelligent public servants that they claim to be and put away the sling-shots and stones in order to work together to run the country.

While it was necessary to scaremonger about “hung parliaments” during the election campaign to stop the public from voting for that nice Mr. Clegg, it can stop now.

Germany’s three main parties work together as a coalition government, Greece has a single party. Which has the stronger economy?

With all that has happened recently to destroy the public trust in members of parliament, now would be a good time to show that they can after all behave responsibly and help to grow the economy, rather than see it wither for their own political self interest.