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Gordon Brown needs to do much more than make impassioned speeches to his own supporters if he is to win the vote of the UK’s contractors at the next general election. According to a poll of voters in freelance jobs, the Labour party will win just 1.4% of their vote, in what would be a humiliating obliteration for the Prime Minister. More than two-thirds of these non-permanent workers vowed to vote Conservative, and 13% said they would vote Liberal Democrat, says the Shout99 poll for Brookson. Chief executive Martin Hesketh said it was no surprise contractors had no confidence in the Labour government, given the numerous regulations it had imposed on their sector. “Contractors in this country have seen some significant shifts in the legislation that governs the way they run their businesses in recent years”. He said these shifts had caused a “great deal of confusion and upheaval” for contractors, in addition to hefty costs for some under the MSC and IR35 legislations. In the poll, more than 90% of the respondents said they felt the government does not value contractors, and neglects their differences to less skilled temporary staff. A tongue-in-cheek endorsement of the message came on Tuesday, when the PCG presented Gordon Brown with a chocolate teapot at the Labour Party Conference. The gesture was a response to what the group said was the state’s “continuing failure to recognise the importance” of the 1.4m freelancers contributing to the economy. “Gordon Brown repeatedly mentioned fairness in his speech and we would certainly like to see some fairness shown to freelancers, particularly on tax issues. “The UK’s freelance community is growing and it includes some of the country’s most experienced and talented workers who make up a highly skilled, highly mobile and flexible 21st century workforce.” John Brazier, PCG’s managing director, added: “It’s about time government acknowledged them, recognised them, helped them and stopped penalising them – that would be fair. A chocolate teapot represents the usefulness of government action to date.” Sep 25, 2008 Email this article Printer friendly page Previous Page
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