Sira Dheshan Naidu has been carefully considering which parties have shown support for small businesses after Brexit, something that has helped to shape his decision about who he will vote for this Thursday.
The 45-year-old business owner, from London, started his skin, hair and beard care brand, Disruptor London, in 2021 with his friend Juan Jimenez Anca, 43. The brand strives to be as green as possible when it comes to their business, which Mr Naidu said “focuses on sustainability and reshaping consumption narratives”.
As such, in Thursday’s general election, it is likely that the pair will back the Green Party. Mr Naidu told i: “Our voting decision is heavily influenced by parties’ stances on climate change, economic recovery and support for small businesses post-Brexit.
“Based on the joint Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth manifesto rankings [which weighs up which is the best party to choose in terms of protecting the planet], the Green Party emerges as the strongest contender, scoring 39 out of 40 points. Their robust environmental policies and commitment to green jobs align closely with our business values.”
The Liberal Democrats also scored highly, however, with 31.5 points. He added: “They offer a balance of climate action and economic recovery solutions. Labour, scoring 20.5 points, shows moderate commitment but lacks comprehensive strategies, especially for Brexit-related challenges.
“The Conservatives, with only five points, appear least aligned with our priorities. Given our previous voting history and current priorities, we find ourselves leaning towards the Green Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties offer the strongest environmental commitments while also addressing economic concerns to varying degrees.”
Soaring costs and inflation, higher taxes and regulation and reduced consumer spending have defined the past few years for the UK’s estimated 5.5 million small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs).
One major issue for Mr Naidu is that none of the main parties have presented a comprehensive plan to reverse the ‘damage’ caused by Brexit to small businesses.
He said this was “a significant concern” for them as business owners, adding: “Our final decision will balance climate action commitment with practical considerations for our business’s viability, potentially considering tactical voting based on local constituency dynamics.”
Jo Williams, who runs the Joco gift shop in Nuneaton town centre, was also unsure about who to vote for, describing herself as a “floating voter”.
She did say, however, that she was leaning towards Reform, adding that she thought Nigel Farage’s party “seem to have small business in mind”.
Ms Williams, 48, said: “I am yet to decide who I wish to vote for in this general election. I have been a floating voter in the past and it seems this year is no different.
“Often, I find that people vote for the ‘leader’ rather than the party and this makes the decision for me very difficult.
“Having read the manifestos in relation to business, the decision is tricky, due to the fact that as much as Reform have said they will abolish business rates, which I am obviously in favour of [but] I find myself worrying about what other taxes will be brought in to replace this lost revenue.”
Ms Williams said Reform’s plans to increase the VAT Threshold to £150,000 from £90,000 offer corporation tax-free allowance of £100,000, which she thinks is “great for smaller businesses with only small profits, keeping profits within the areas in which they serve”, and their plans for a four per cent online delivery tax, all caught her eye.
She added she was also considering voting for the Green Party but the idea of bringing in a £15 per hour minimum wage put her off.
She added: “This is a good idea on the face of things, except this burden then falls onto small businesses, which are already often pushed past their breaking point without help to cover these additional costs.
“What I have been looking for is what help there is for the likes of myself – a business owner. Directors and business owners, who work countless hours to keep their businesses running, often earn far less than the minimum wage and that of the staff they employ, simply to get through these difficult times. This is often due to the passion for the businesses they have grown.
“Additional costs of doing business cannot continue to be placed on small businesses without many falling by the wayside.”
Regarding the Labour Party, she said: “Labour freezing corporation tax or introducing no age limit to the minimum wage cap will only add to the small business problem.
“Cost consideration when looking for new employees is something that happens, due to additional training costs, for example. If there is no cap, I’m sure those who have waited for their wages to rise will view the younger employees differently if they are paid the same wage, despite having many years more experience.”
What are the parties’ plans for small businesses?
Below are some of the suggestions each party has put forward for small firms.
Conservatives:
- Abolish self-employed national insurance (NI) and reduce NI contributions for workers by another 2p
- Improve reporting around late payments, promote digital invoicing and give more power to the Small Business Commissioner
- Invest in energy, transport and digital infrastructure to help businesses grow, including plans to deliver high-speed internet to more than 80 per cent of the country and invest £4.7bn in smaller cities across the North and the Midlands
- Expand tax-free childcare to support business owners and the self-employed
Labour:
- The party has said it has no plans to increase taxes on working people nor does it plan to raise NI contributions
- Cap corporation tax at 25 per cent, which would support small business growth through the ability to deduct capital investments
- Remove zero-hour contracts and ban fire-and-rehire practices, alongside introducing a genuine living wage
- Work with the Federation of Small Business to create a small business export taskforce, identifying practical methods for simplifying the process and providing the appropriate level of guidance for businesses
Reform:
- Remove VAT from energy bills
- Raise the minimum corporation tax profit threshold to £100,000, as well as reducing the corporation tax rate to 20 per cent (and eventually 15 per cent)
- Abolish existing IR35 rules
- Abolish business rates for high street small businesses
Liberal Democrat
- Review IR35 reforms to make sure the self-employed are treated fairly
- Invest at least three per cent of GDP in research and development by 2030 – rising to 3.5 per cent in 2034 (with particular focus on small businesses and start-ups)
- Boost trade for small businesses by bringing down trade barriers
- Replace the apprenticeship levy with a broader training levy
Green Party
- Increase the minimum wage to £15 an hour, regardless of age, with the costs to small businesses offset by reducing their NI payments
- Implement equal employment rights for all workers, including those in the gig economy, from their first day of employment
- Ensure businesses that repeatedly break employment, data protection and tax law will not be allowed to operate
- Raise NI to eight per cent for people earning more than £50,270