Thursday is crunch time for London’s mayoral candidates, bringing an end to the mud-slinging and soap opera antics that have kept us entertained over the last eight weeks. With more gossip than TheLondonPaper, these elections promise to be more dramatic than the Democratic primaries – but what have they promised to do for you? Here’s our round up of the candidates’ small business policies:
Siân Berry (Green Party)
Hailed by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) as the most ‘on message’ for small enterprise, Siân has been quietly accumulating quite a following among London’s small business community.
Policies include plans to force new commercial developments to make half of their space available to small businesses, providing loans to help businesses with London Emissions Zone (LEZ) compliance, and encouraging the Greater London Authority (GLA) to buy more goods and services from within the city.
Siân has stressed that small businesses may save London in its time of economic need. “We can’t rely on multinationals, which can easily leave London,” she says. “We need a more resilient economy to see us through, and small businesses will help to build that.”
Our verdict: 8/10 – We can’t fault Siân’s support of local trade, but she doesn’t say much about red tape.
http://sianformayor.org.uk/
Brian Paddick (Liberal Democrats)
The highest-ranking openly gay police officer in Britain, Brian is keen to assert himself as a potential ally to small businesses across the capital. One of his main business policies is to scrap the LEZ scheme, instead adapting the technology to reduce congestion on red routes. Brian’s plans also include encouraging businesses in the City to pay for a programme of new trade apprenticeships, as well as encouraging night deliveries to ease daytime congestion.
Our verdict: 7/10 – Brian’s policies are straightforward, concentrating on congestion and the skills shortage, but with little thought given to supporting businesses through the credit crunch.
http://www.brianpaddick.org/
Boris Johnson (Conservative Party)
With business near the top of his agenda, we expected BoJo’s policies to be clear-cut. Sadly, though, he’s disappointing: his three-page business manifesto is undeniably vague. After helpfully pointing out that London’s businesses are facing economic uncertainty, Boris goes on to say he will cut the red tape ‘that is strangling aspiration and ambition’, but fails to say how. Similarly, he promises to ‘promote and provide skills training’, and ‘stand up for small businesses whose livelihood is threatened by giant corporations’ without giving any solid specifics.
Speaking to startups last month, Boris was a bit more detailed, saying he would get rid of the congestion charge, force developers to make room for small businesses, and meet up with the FSB every month to find out the ‘real issues’ affecting businesses.
Our verdict: 4/10 – Points for his interview with us, but we really only believe it if it’s down on paper, and the manifesto seems to be little more than long words and hot air. Soz, Bozz.
http://www.backboris.com/
Ken Livingstone (Labour)
Currently the most disappointing candidate of the lot, Ken hasn’t really courted the business vote, preferring instead to concentrate on transport and the environment.
Ken’s recent admission that he ‘conned’ the government into bidding for the Olympics deserves our respect, if only for his insistence that small businesses receive the majority of the contracts for the games.
However, we’re finding it hard to forgive him for the C-Charge and LEZ schemes, both of which have dealt a major blow to his appeal for small businesses in the capital.
Our verdict: 2/10 – Kudos on the Olympics contracts, Ken, but we can’t help but feel your policies lack benefits for small businesses.
http://www.kenlivingstone.com/
A full list of candidates can be
seen here
