Election Response
By Effective Communication
Nolan Nicholas, founder and managing director of Nolan Windows said of today’s election ‘result’: “The result of a hung parliament is a positive thing for Wales and in the coming weeks and months as a potential coalition government is formed we should do well from it. However, given that there are outright majorities in other parts of the UK and not one in England means that constitutionally there needs to be electoral reform to ensure the government in power represents the needs of individuals and businesses.”
Noel Williams, Managing Partner at accountancy specialists Kilsby & Williams said: “Although the result may be a benefit for Wales in the short term, if Labour enter a coalition with Plaid , Scottish Nationalists and the Liberals this is likely to be short-lived and costly in the long term.
“It looks like we are going to see a period of politics at its worst with the real hard decisions on turning the economy around unable to be made because of the posturing of the parties. It looks like another election within a year.”
Dan Langford, Group Marketing Director, Acorn, said: “What we need right now is strong, clear leadership in Government – ultimately, it will be private enterprise that secures recovery and ensures sustainable economic growth, and therefore we need a single-minded Government to focus on supporting workforce flexibility and creating the right environment to encourage business and industry to be able to employ more people. It needs to be an environment with less bureaucracy, less waste and swifter decision-making processes – my worry is that a coalition Government will be unable to achieve this.
“One particular consideration for employers is, if it turns out that the Labour Party plays no further part in Government, there will be pressure from businesses in all sectors, up and down the country to review the Agency Workers Regulations due to come into force next year, to ensure they are implemented in a way far more likely to help support British industry’s global competitive advantage.”
Andrew Diplock, Vice-Chairman of Caerphilly Business Forum and Commercial Director of utility and environmental consultancy UES, said: “The recession has been particularly tough on SMEs in South Wales and business owners have had to batten down the hatches to enable their businesses to ride out the storm.
“This election result is the worst case scenario for small businesses; we were looking for a strong and stable new government to sustain signs of recovery. Instead we have further confusion and the prospect of politicians bickering over power, with no progress being made and even the threat of another election.
“Whatever the make-up of the new UK government, it cannot afford to ignore the pressing environmental and economic pressures that need to be addressed in Wales quickly and decisively.
“The answer has to be in supporting the private sector through improved credit flow and funding for small and medium businesses, to encourage sustainable products and services and to ensure the public sector reduce waste and inefficiencies in order to develop a more commercial foundation.”
Tags: Acorn, Acorn Recruitment and Training, Caerphilly Business Forum, election, election 2010, hung parliament, kilsby & Willaims, Nolan Windows
