View from Whitehall - October 2021

08 October 2021

It was good to be back in the flesh at the party conferences this Autumn (though I can’t say that last year’s break wasn’t welcome!) – my 15th round in all!!!!

For all the unhelpful headlines at the Labour Party gathering in Brighton, the party leadership has made genuine strides to engage with the business community and are beginning to flesh out the contours of their policy. The £28bn annual pledge made by Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves towards green capital investment in the UK is designed to provide the certainty that investors need to plan for the future. The announcement that Labour would campaign at the next election to get rid of business rates received warm endorsement from the small business community.

In contrast, the Conservatives’ jamboree in Manchester felt more like an opportunity to rally the troops. Chancellor Rishi Sunak used the platform to introduce himself to the party faithful as a conviction politician rather than letting slip any details of his impending Budget statement and three-year spending review. In the fringes, the FLA challenged the narrow scope of the Super Deduction Scheme given that it excludes leasing and hire, two of the more common means of acquiring plant and machinery. We also highlighted the need for future Government action in respect of CCA reform, the role of the FOS and greater support for non-bank lenders.

COP26 is at the forefront of Ministers’ mind and we took the opportunity to press for Government support to enable a faster rollout of electric vehicles to the wider population. We can expect a strategy from the Government after the Glasgow convention to maintain the tempo. Michael Gove has buried the hatchet with the Prime Minister and been entrusted with delivery of the Government’s Levelling Up agenda, including raising the UK’s productivity, which will be central to the next election manifesto.

I’m not convinced that either conference will have changed the minds of voters, but they remain an important pillar of engagement for trade bodies and other stakeholders to get their message across in what is a crowded environment.

Published 08 Oct 2021

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