Contractors can be certain of one thing in the coming weeks – uncertainty, writes John Brazier of PCG, in this article for ContractorCalculator.
Although we have another week of opinion polls and a live debate to go, which could restore Conservative fortunes as the ‘dead cert’ in the election race, a hung parliament is looking increasingly likely.
Increasingly, the electorate appears to be accepting that a government with no overall majority could signal a refreshing change to UK politics, away from the extreme bipartisan model of the United States and closer to the collaborative models of government that prevail in our European neighbours.
Business and the financial markets won’t like the thought of a hung parliament to start with. But whichever party or coalition is running the show, big businesses, including most major contractor clients, are resilient; they will continue their efforts to grow, shake off the recession and take advantage of the upturn to ‘land grab’ market share.
PCG’s high level engagement with main parties
Recognising that to secure a place for the best interests of our PCG members and the UK’s flexible workforce in the future plans of the potential future government of whatever party, last year we strengthened our policy team and engaged in an intensive lobbying campaign, targeting the highest levels of party leadership.
We remain committed to securing the abolition of IR35, and to this end our focused campaigns have secured a commitment in writing from the Conservative Party to review IR35 as part of a wider review of small business taxation and regulation a commitment we trust will be honoured
John Brazier, PCG
We remain committed to securing the abolition of IR35, and to this end our focused campaigns have secured a commitment in writing from the Conservative Party to review IR35 as part of a wider review of small business taxation and regulation – a commitment we trust will be honoured.
After intense engagement with senior Liberal Democrats, we are confident of this party’s support to repeal IR35. Two of the three main parties understand the importance of the flexible workforce to the UK economy because of our work.
And whilst most would agree that the Labour administration of the last 13 years by its actions has been overtly hostile to contractors, we recently met with a senior Labour government minister and other key Labour policy influencers, so we know that door is open, and there are key figures open to change.
All these efforts have been designed to ensure that contractors gain maximum benefit from any single party government of whatever colour. If we see an administration formed of the best talent from diverse political parties with non-traditional power brokers, our message will not be diluted and the importance of contracting to the economic turnaround will not be forgotten.
Evidencing the economic case to support contractors
In parallel with and to directly support the increase in PCG lobbying activities from our strengthened policy team, we have delved deeper into the economic value and significance of the flexible workforce. Our research shows that 1.4m contractors, freelancers, consultants, interims and other highly skilled flexible workers contribute £21bn to UK GDP.
Our latest research has been to work with econometric forecasters to assess the future value growth of the sector. We are also profiling the client arena in much greater detail to gain a greater understanding of how the demand for contractors is likely to evolve.
All of this hard economic data has been and will be shared with our political contacts to emphasise how important the flexible workforce is to the economy and why the burdens of IR35 and other anti-contractor measures are a drag on the performance of UK PLC as a whole.
Opportunities for contractors
Much has been said about the waste in the public sector. Each party has committed to tackling burgeoning public sector costs with better procurement practices and committing to smaller, shorter contracts with smaller suppliers. There is the opportunity for groups of contractors in small collaborative units to offer a way forward, and for senior experienced contractors to offer their experience and expertise. But public sector buyers will have to take that leap of faith and place trust in smaller, but far more expert and specialised, suppliers.
The Conservative proposals for a ‘Big Society’ in which the electorate as a whole is being asked to ‘help us run the government better’ are struggling to gain a hold. However, there is nothing to stop the flexible workforce stepping up to the plate and saying, ‘we can do it’.
Similarly, the Liberal Democrats will require green collar workers to fulfil their low-carbon strategies, and the UK flexible workforce’s engineering and offshore talents must be mobilised to make these pledges a reality.
Party politics against a European backdrop
Keeping a close eye on initiatives being developed in Brussels is becoming an increasing element of PCG’s engagement strategy. We maintain a presence in Brussels to monitor those developments and directives that may one day impact on PCG’s freelance membership.
Even as the fate of the UK is being decided in constituencies throughout the land, the European machine grinds on. There are key legislative reviews being undertaken right now, and draft discussion papers being created on modes of work in the EU that may have far-reaching consequences. So we at PCG cannot and do not let our attention waver, particularly as most of our European partners favour a more socialist and unionised agenda than suits the UK palate.
Whatever the election outcome next week, we at PCG have built the necessary relationships with key players across the political spectrum of the UK and beyond into Europe to maximise the influence contractors can expect to have on the government of whatever colour, or colours, that emerges and to secure the outcomes our membership has tasked us to achieve.
We continue to face uncertainty, but in the certain knowledge that we at PCG are in a strong position to meet the unknown challenges ahead.