East Mids director slams Chancellor’s conference speech
A director from creative agency Purpose Media has slammed Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond’s speech claiming that his party was the ‘party of business’, saying she “doesn’t believe him”.
Katrina Starkie, the Derbyshire firm’s marketing director, said the substance of Hammond’s speech to the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham “didn’t signal anything of comfort” SMEs in the East Midlands.
She said: “Mr Hammond said that the Conservative Party is the party of business and hinted that public trust in business is at an all time low, but we don’t believe that is the case.
“Most people support responsible businesses which create jobs, provide valuable products and services and pay their way. What they don’t trust are huge, faceless global corporations which boost profits by reaping all the benefits of trading in the UK while paying as little tax as possible.
“If the Chancellor really believes the Conservative Party is on the side of business, then a good start would be to close tax loopholes and ensure that multinational companies pay what they owe and contribute more to the economy they have made themselves a part of.
“Overhauling the UK’s broken business rates system and introducing other incentives aimed at helping smaller businesses would also go some way toward showing clear support for the firms which make up the bulk of our economy, to help them succeed and prosper.
“With a messy Brexit an ever-more distinct possibility, it’s the UK’s SMEs that need support in such uncertain times. Our politicians should be spending more time talking to businesses like ours through forums like the Chamber of Commerce before making statements that do not reflect our real-world experiences.”
