A poll of more than 500 people who run small businesses with five or fewer employees revealed that 42 per cent of respondents felt that no UK political party best understands the needs of the small business sector.
In contrast, only 25 per cent of people felt that the Conservative party understood small business needs – while 9 per cent felt UKIP was the most understanding party, 9 per cent felt that Labour was the most understanding and just 3 per cent believed that the Liberal Democrats were most supportive of the small business sector.
Ed Molyneux, CEO and co-founder of FreeAgent, said: “This research shows there is clearly a split among small business owners when it comes to determining which party has the best interests of the micro-business sector at heart. But it’s also interesting to see that more than a third of people who were polled feel that not a single one of the UK’s political parties properly understand small businesses.
“I hope that the Government takes heed of this and uses the forthcoming Budget as an opportunity to address some of the issues currently facing small business owners in the UK – such as the complicated tax structure and the difficulty that many of them face in securing the funds they need to grow their businesses.
“The small businesses sector is vital to the UK’s overall economy and important for all political parties to commit to nurturing these businesses, providing them with support and helping them grow. Starting your own business can be a terrifying prospect, so I hope the Government looks at how it can make it easier for people to get their business ideas off the ground and turn them into successes.”
