Amendment of the Law

Julian Smith Excerpts

Thursday 24th March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Julian Smith (Skipton and Ripon) (Con)]

I refer Members to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests.

I am delighted that business, as well as families, took centre stage in yesterday’s Budget. Enterprise zones will be a beacon for growth. There will be two in Yorkshire: one in Leeds and one in Sheffield.

[Mr Binley]

My hon. Friend might also be pleased to know that West Northamptonshire Development Corporation will shortly submit an application to create an enterprise zone in Northampton, which will bring 10,000 new jobs to an area that is supposed to be building 50,000 new homes over the next 15 years. Does that not show that the Budget is particularly about promoting growth, and that this is just one way to achieve that?

[Julian Smith]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right, but he will be facing stiff competition from the North Yorkshire local enterprise partnership, which will be seeking to get ahead of his proposal.

The most exciting aspect of yesterday’s Budget was the direction of travel the Chancellor set in respect of the conditions for business that he wants in Britain, because growth will ultimately be achieved through the individual efforts of business leaders, not through Government. The 2% cut in corporation tax signals to companies that Britain is once again open for business. It is now clear to every potential investor, in the UK and overseas, that this Government are committed to putting in place the best corporation tax rates in the G20 by the end of this Parliament. Overnight, global companies such as WPP have said that that will make a difference to their decisions on where to invest. That is great news.

The Budget also encourages those who want to set up a business to go for it. It contains a big nudge from the Government for people to give entrepreneurship a go. There is a golden carrot to dangle before those thinking of taking a risk: a 10% capital gains tax rate up to £10 million. The profit motive is a motivator, and the Budget clearly says, “If you believe in your business, take the risks and are successful, you will be much better off financially.” Therefore the message is, “Unless you’re a cracking singer or can dance like the Business Secretary, forget ‘The X Factor’ and ‘Strictly’; this Budget gives you a golden ticket to join start-up Britain.”

The moratorium on new legislation for small businesses with fewer than 10 employees will be a big relief for entrepreneurs, who need to be fully focused on jobs and growth rather than the latest wheeze from Whitehall. When I was a small business owner, dealing with employment law took more time than any other management responsibility. Employment laws and regulations have been piled on British business since 1997.

[Ian Lucas (Wrexham) (Lab)]

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

[Julian Smith]

Not at the moment.

Let us be clear: employers want to get on with running their business. They want to allow their workers flexibility in their jobs and to give them training, but they also want to make decisions themselves. The changes in the Budget will provide welcome relief from administration, rules and red tape, which always come from new legislation. Opposition Members have already started putting about the myth of this being about “nasty Tories” who have no interest in equal rights. It is nothing of the sort. Labour took some good steps on employment, and we have accepted many of them, but the last Government ultimately failed to see that adding on regulation after regulation was counter-productive; they just did not know when to stop.

This Budget establishes two principles: first, that micro-business needs to be treated differently from other business, which is very important for my constituency; and, secondly, that creating jobs is more important than adding more regulations to existing ones. Everything we do should encourage business and make things easier for risk takers. Only by doing that will we get this country’s economy growing to its full potential. Jam-packed with other measures as well as the ones I have talked about, this Budget has set us firmly on the right course.