Member Article

Regional business vs. UKIP

With the interesting decision now being made by broadcasters to include UKIP and the Green Party in televised debates (after only the Lib Dem, Labour and Conservative leaders were permitted to speak way back in 2010) smaller parties are clearly infringing on the consciousness of the public more than they ever have done in the past.

So in a hypothetical world, if UKIP did come to power, what would this mean for the regions, what would this mean specifically for businesses in our region?

Looking into UKIP (and siphoning out the displays of some top-notch buffoonery from soon-to-be-ex UKIP members) on the rare occasion their manifesto deviated from EU bashing, there are some interesting changes that a hypothetical yellow and purple Union Jack would bring.

Scrapping HS2 under UKIP’s proposals would be a major deal, considering the buzz around it, there’s no doubt the kind of investment a new rail line like HS2 and HS3 could bring to Yorkshire, particularly if construction begins up here. Scrap HS2 and you’re scrapping that which the regions value as a stepping stone to greater equality with the South East.

The renewables sector in Yorkshire would take a hit; UKIP would remove subsidies for wind and solar energy, which are already being hacked away by a government that seems to be taking its cues from the ever-dislikable Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott.

Power stations in the North (i.e Drax) may get it good however, as UKIP plans to scrap theLarge Combustion Plant Directive purportedly to “encourage the re-development of British power stations”, which could also affect South Yorkshire’s steelworks.

Both were previously restricted by LCPD which aims to control emissions of sulphur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) and dust in large industrial processes - so one silver lining amongst a whole lot of cloud, if you’re into that sort of thing.

Obviously, the main argument with UKIP is with our membership and involvement with the EU, to some a scapegoat and to others a villain in this piece, but whatever your opinion on the EU, to UKIP, it is a major issue (some might argue the only issue on which they’re really running).

We would of course be out, but it would be interesting to see the impact that becoming an EU refugee would have on regional business.

In UKIP’s effort to “take back our borders” (as if there has been some anarchaic 28 Weeks Later-style apocalytptic invasion threatening our very existence) the UK would be removed from the European Free Trade Area (EFTA) and the European Economic Area (EEA) because those treaties imply a principle of free movement of labour.

According to New Scientist, this would “risk the future of British science“ as the EU’s commitment through the European Research Council, to science has been unparalleled (according to statistics, for every £1 the UK contributes to the research pot, we get approximately £1.40 back)

Apart from an exodus of talent from the EU and elsewhere from our closed off little island that UKIP would sanction and encourage, as always, it comes down to money.

European Regional Development Fund projects have helped just under 15,000 businesses get started, and have created an approximate 62,000 jobs in the UK since 2007. Of course we’re not going to get the whole story, but that is a hell of a lot of jobs and a hell of a lot of money to invest in our regions’ businesses.

Finance Yorkshire, the regional investment body, is supported financially by the European Union and attracted £30 million investment from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of Europe’s support for the region’s economic development through the Yorkshire and Humber ERDF Programme.

Crowd-pleasers such as abolishing the inheritance tax and (unusually for such a right wing party - though bearing in mind that bowing to popular opinion is how they develop policy) have announced that they will introduce a 35p income tax rate between £42,285 and £55,000, whereupon the 40p rate becomes payable, but are these are token gestures born from populism, and I’d have no doubt old Farage would drop them as soon as he possibly could.

So if you were thinking of voting UKIP, because you think we let the EU have too much and get too little back, if you think foreigners are coming into steal our jobs, and cheat our benefits system, you’re focussing on the wrong thing.

What we’ve been given by being part of the EU is priceless, and what UKIP brings to the table is insubstantial tokenism that will crush regional business.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Clare Burnett .