PROFESSOR DYLAN JONES-EVANS

Next Thursday, voters will be going to the polls for the second time in just over two years to elect a new government for the United Kingdom. Largely unexpected by most political pundits, the general election was called by the Prime Minister in April to “guarantee certainty for the years ahead” as the country enters negotiations with the European Union over its departure. For businesses, this certainty will be crucial especially in terms of the position we take on Brexit negotiations and the impact on our economy. But whilst it is critical for the next Government to ensure that UK businesses can weather any potential storm that could arise from our leaving Europe, there has been very little discussion to date on manifesto policies that directly affect businesses. Instead, other commitments have dominated the headlines, not least the muddled messages over the Conservatives’ social care policy and Labour’s spending plans which, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, co...

With many predicting that David Cameron would have to stand down as Conservative leader in the event of not winning the 2015 general election, the majority obtained by the Conservatives means that leaders of three of the UK’s other political parties resigned their positions on Friday, although Nigel Farage has since declared he is now staying in charge of UKIP. Therefore, with Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg no longer leaders of as the leaders of Labour and the Liberal Democrats respectively, much of the political speculation over the next few months will be on who succeeds them over the next few months. Indeed, with leadership election occurring very rarely in politics, the press is already examining the characteristics of those who want to head the two parties. But even within the world of business it is not easy to find new people to lead your organisation. The Global Workforce Leadership Survey, which recently questioned 1000 human resource (HR) executives and 1000 employees in...

As politicians keep telling us, small to medium sized businesses (SMEs) are the backbone of the economy. Yet, it could be argued that in previous general elections, they have been largely ignored by the political parties despite the lobbying efforts of organisations such as Federation of Small Businesses and the Forum of Private Business. In 2010, there was very little mention of SMEs in terms of the economic policies of any of the main parties but thanks to the nature of the economic recovery where entrepreneurial businesses have played a major role, things have changed considerably. And with SMEs being responsible for three quarters of the jobs created during the period 2010-2014, and the total numbers increasing by 700,000 over the same period, those wishing to form the next Government can no longer ignore the voices of small businesses. So what are the main promises being made to the owner managers of 5.7 million SMEs who currently employ over 16 million people across the...

As we are all aware, tourism is one of the major industries here in Wales, employing thousands of people and bringing wealth into local communities across the region. Whilst business support for tourism has been devolved to the Welsh Government since 1999, the general election in eight days time still gives us the opportunity to assess the level of importance attached by each of the parties to the industry. Indeed, many would argue that it has become largely a forgotten industry when it comes to government economic policy over the last two decades, certainly as compared to interventions for sectors such as oil and gas, manufacturing and the creative industries. Yet tourism could contribute so much more to the development of the UK economy if it was properly supported. Given this, what have the main political parties promised the industry if they gain power next week? As the British Hospitality Association point out, perhaps the biggest disappointment is to be found in Labou...