Business leaders express concern over hung parliament
BUSINESS leaders across the North West have reacted with disappointment to the news that Britain has its first hung parliament since 1974.
The result sees the Conservatives as the largest party with 292 seats by midday, however they cannot now reach the 326 needed to win an overall majority.
The City wanted to see a party emerge with a clear mandate to act quickly on public borrowing. The FTSE 100, which opened down 85 points, or 1.6%, has since recovered the morning’s losses and now stands at 5,254; which is down 0.13% on yesterday.
The pound has fallen by 1.4% against the dollar since the markets opened to $1.45,its lowest for a year.
However, worldwide economic sentiment has also been dented by the continuing debt crisis in Greece and the potential impact of a weak eurozone. Stock markets around the world have slumped in the last 24 hours.
Liverpool Chamber is urging the new administration, whatever its final composition, to focus on policies that will help the private sector get the economy back to growth.
Chief executive Jack Stopforth said: “Companies across the Liverpool city region are concerned that a hung parliament could inhibit the decisive action needed to cut the deficit and improve the business environment.
“The electorate has spoken – and opted for a hung parliament. But the Liverpool business community has also spoken and expects the parties to put political horse-trading to one side and put the UK economy at the heart of their thinking. Strong leadership and consensus are required to deal with the serious threats still facing the economy.”
Frank McKenna, chairman of business membership and lobby group Downtown in Business, said: “I am disappointed that we have not ended up with a clear mandate for one of the parties. The interests of the nation are not best served by this outcome.
“We are in desperate need of clear leadership to take us through an unprecedented time of economic uncertainty. Instead, our politicians will now be focussed on compromise and making deals with one another.
“It will be ironic if voting reform becomes the big debate during those negotiations, when the major issues should be about addressing the economy, national debt and radical reform of the public sector.”
Meanwhile, the Forum of Private Business urged the main political parties to work together.
Chief executive Phil Orford said: “I expect many smaller businesses will be disappointed that the election has resulted in a hung parliament. However, the outcome can’t be changed so it is vital that the newly-elected MPs put aside party politics and work together to come up with a credible system of governance.
“With the economy still in a very precarious state and a mountain of public debt to be tackled, businesses owners need our elected representatives to move away from inter-party point-scoring and show political responsibility.”
Angie Robinson, chief executive of Greater Manchester Chamber, stressed the need for a “clear and decisive government” to take tough policy decisions.
She said: “All three parties have been unclear on the exact details of their manifestos and so this situation needs to be resolved as quickly as possible to ensure that our economic recovery is nurtured and protected.”
There were several surprises in North West constituencies. Former leader of Trafford Borough Council Susan Williams failed in her bid to win Bolton West for Conservative by just 92 votes.
Labour’s Hazel Blears comfortably won Salford and Eccles, albeit with a reduced majority, despite voter anger over the MP expenses scandal. Labour also won Rochdale where Gordon Brown got into hot water for calling Gillian Duffy a “bigoted woman”.
Labour successfully defended all of its Merseyside seats, with Luciana Berger securing Wavertree in Liverpool for Labour, despite criticism of her selection and threats from the actor Ricky Tomlinson that he would stand against her. Meanwhile, the Conservatives won Carlisle, a seat that has been in Labour hands since 1964.
