More than 90% of UK SME owners to vote

MORE THAN 90% of UK small business owners will use their vote today, according to a national survey by TaxAssist Accountants.

Despite the expected high turnout, some 66% of the 52,000 canvassed did not think the pre-election debate addressed the issues which are important to small businesses.

With total turnout at the last General Election in 2010 of just over 65%, politicians of all parties are being warned to ignore the sector “at their peril”.

More than 78% did not trust that politicians would follow through on the promises they made during the election campaign and nearly 62% said the quality of political debate had decreased in recent years.

Karl Sandall, chief executive of TaxAssist Accountants, said: “Small businesses who responded to our survey were decidedly unimpressed with the quality of the debate in the run-up to the election and the vast majority did not feel that any politicians were addressing the issues which mattered most to them.

“The Institute of Fiscal Studies is right to say that none of the parties have provided anything like full details of their financial plans and whoever wins on Thursday has a long way to go to gain the trust of the small business sector. With small and medium sized firms in the UK employing over 15 million people, it is a voter base they neglect at their peril.”