Politicians are being urged by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) to forget their differences and work together to ensure that a credible plan for growth is formulated, as the party conference season continued in earnest.
National Chairman of the FSB, John Walker, said, "The economy is too fragile to be kicked around like a political football during party conference season. We need to see all the parties working together and putting economic recovery first. The political sparring between parties about the cuts is not the answer and so tangible policies which deliver growth must be put in place to boost growth, jobs and UK plc."
The FSB were quick to warn the major political parties after Ed Balls, shadow chancellor, vociferously called for the 20% VAT rate to be reversed during the Labour party’s conference in Liverpool.
Ed Balls issued five immediate steps that he felt the Government should take to help kick-start the economy, which included reducing VAT to 5% on maintenance and home repairs for the period of 1 year.
Real talks and discussions between the major parties of what to do about cuts were urged by the FSB as the best way forward, to replace the political posturing of recent weeks.
The FSB also felt that a temporary VAT cut on the construction and tourism sectors would be more beneficial, following the lead of other EU countries.