With the manifestos due next week, it’s worth reflecting on what businesses hope to see under the next Government – will any of the parties meet their expectations?
Bellenden Elections has featured blog posts that include views from thought-leaders, influencers and businesses in the energy, education and housing sectors. We’ve provided a taster below, visit our website for more.
Energy
All parties agree that keeping the lights on is a major priority for the next Government, alongside reducing consumer bills and decarbonising the supply. How we achieve this is a matter for debate, as indicated by Tim Yeo and Nick Molho below:
Tim Yeo, former Conservative MP for South Suffolk and Chairman of the Energy & Climate Change Committee
“I would not be surprised to see the end of vertically integrated energy companies and this would undoubtedly help improve consumer trust.
“The Government must be more proactive in accelerating the growth of a genuine demand side response and the smart meter roll out will also help facilitate a more responsive energy system. The introduction of ‘time of use’ pricing is a must.”
Nick Molho, Executive Director, Aldersgate Group
“Only if the next Government introduces and upholds stable policies to attract investment in the low-carbon sector will we be able to unlock the necessary finance. The technologies to achieve the transition to a low-carbon energy system in the next 15-years already exist. But a critical part of whether or not we will achieve this transition depends on our ability to obtain the finance needed.”
Education
The education sector sees some of the most vocal ideological debates, in part because every voter has experience of going through the school system, but also due to the articulate and outspoken teaching community. Here’s a sample of some views from the sector:
Leora Cruddas, Director of Policy, the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL)
“Formal partnerships of schools in the form of multi-academy trusts (MATs) and federations need to be incentivised. Doing so will help to solve the problem of scale and sustainability of small stand-alone institutions, particularly small primary schools, in a tightening fiscal climate. An incoming government could act quickly to make formal partnerships a requirement of the move towards a national fair funding formula.”
Liam Nolan, CEO and Executive Headteacher, Perry Beeches Academy Trust
“The further extension of the free schools programme would undoubtedly break up local authority control of schools and allow for true and radical freedoms. People who most understand how to run schools would be in charge, not bureaucrats, and they would be directly answerable to parents.”
Laura McInerney, Editor, Schools Week, and Guardian columnist
“I would put the curriculum in the hands of an arms-length organisation. Members of the ALO would be selected by elected officials and have fixed terms. This would reduce reform fatigue, bring expertise back to curriculum change and still retain a democratic link to the public but not be overly political.”
Housing
The growing population and changing family and lifestyle choices has prompted huge demand for new types of homes and innovative approaches to tenure and affordability. Whilst all parties have committed to building new homes, our commentators suggest that more detail is needed about how this can be achieved:
John Slaughter, Director of Economic Affairs, Home Builders Federation
“Politicians should take a long-term view of the conditions needed for a sustained increase in house building, building on what is currently working:
- The Help to Buy Equity Loan should be maintained until at least 2020.
- Government should review the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) to ensure it is workable, fit for purpose and that residents are better able to see the benefits that development brings locally.”
Claire Astbury, External Affairs Manager, National Housing Federation
“The next government should develop a long-term plan within a year of taking office to end the housing crisis within a generation. As a start, the Federation would like to see central government provide the essential investment required to deliver 80,000 affordable homes a year up to 2020.”
Emma Burnell, Head of External Affairs, New Local Government Network (NLGN)
“The first act of a devolving government would be to remove the centrally imposed borrowing cap, allowing councils to take the lead in housebuilding and freeing them to borrow against their significant housing assets.”