Election 2015: Yorkshire businesses react to unpredictable outcome

In what was expected to be one of the closest election days in recent history, is most definitely going to turn out to be a landslide victory, which will see the Conservative party return to government with a majority.

Yorkshire has been at the forefront of this unpredictable election day so far, which first saw the former deputy prime minister Nick Cleggretain his Sheffield Hallam seatwith 22,215 votes.

But after the Liberal Democrats its the worst ever showing at the polling stations, Mr Clegg, who called the election a “punishing night” for the party on a national scale, hasstepped down as the leader of the Liberal Democrats.

Furthermore, one of the most astonishing moments of the 2015 general election happened at Leeds’ First Direct Arena when it was revealed that shadow chancellor Ed Balls lost his Morley and Outwood seat by 422 votes to the Tory candidate Andrea Jenkyns, who won with with 18,776 votes.

As Labour were unable to attain as many seats as the party had hoped, and, quite frankly, were crushed by the Tories, Ed Miliband has also decided to resign as leader of the Labour parrty.

As the results of the general election begin to settle in, Bdaily wanted to find the thoughts of businesses in Yorkshire.

Elizabeth Ward, principal at Leeds-based Virtuoso Legal, said: “It is great news for my clients that the Conservatives have been returned with a majority in Westminster. They have a clear agenda for businesses and I hope they will carry on with initiatives such as Growth Accelerator and tax reliefs for IP rich businesses. Their policies have helped many UK businesses including many of Virtuoso Legal’s clients. A hung parliament would have lead to uncertainty which is never good for companies.”

Paul Brown, managing director at Cars on Demand in Wakefield, said: “I am as surprised as most people about the scale of the increase in Conservative seats. I did expect another coalition with the Liberal Democrats, as I felt that would be a good result from an economic point of view. I think the result is positive from both a business and UK economic perspective, and hopefully we will see businesses starting to invest again now that there is a clear result.”

Stefanie Hopkins, director of Faith PR in Brighouse, added: “Small businesses will hope that many of the positive measures that have been put in place in recent years, such as the reduction in corporation tax and the small business rate relief, are both continued and extended by the new Conservative government. Before this General Election, the Party promised to support growing businesses such as ours and we look forward to seeing what measures they, as a majority government, are now able to put in place in the weeks, months and years ahead.”

Andy Tuscher, Yorkshire and Humber Region Director at EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation, stated: “During the campaign we called on party leaders to build on the foundations of growth, with continuity and stability in business policy. That is now what we expect the newly-elected Government to deliver. There is a real opportunity to properly rebalance the economy and ensure a strong focus across government on investing in and building on our industrial strength as a manufacturing nation.

“There are many issues to tackle for a new business and industry secretary, which is why we need a really big-hitter in that role. He or she will have an in-tray which will include the need to tackle some of the issues which will help Britain embed and build on the recovery. These include reversing the trade deficit, tackling an energy policy which remains a mess and redoubling efforts to deal with a creaking infrastructure by getting on with important projects, especially building a new airport hub.

“The biggest threat to our long-term economic well-being, however, remains the prospect of leaving the EU. Mr Cameron will be under pressure to call a referendum as soon as possible, possibly bringing it to next year. The new administration must move quickly and campaign on the back of a strong and positive case for Britain’s continued membership. Any drift or dithering will mean uncertainty for British businesses, which would be very unhelpful for the long-term prospects of the economy.”

Alex Grace, Managing Director of Banana Moon, commented: “We’re happy with the outcome of the election and a Conservative government. It provides some continuity to the progress being made over the past few years. As a small business which carried on spending through the recession, it’s nice to be finally coming out of the other side of that with a much more positive outlook. My confidence in the Conservative government continuing to balance the books, gives me confidence as a business owner to continue investing in the growth of my business.”

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