What does the UK election mean for businesses? In what’s been seen as a “landslide for the green economy”, businesses are looking for the new Labour government to follow through on their pro-business pledges.
After political unrest for months, which continues elsewhere around the world, business chiefs have welcomed the ‘clarity’ that the election result has brought. Over the last few days, we’ve heard from the new Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves MP, and King Charles, where the headlines of “economic growth” and “get Britain building” shone through. So, what can businesses expect to see?
Well, there are plans to reform skills, infrastructure and planning to start with the Planning and Infrastructure Bill. There’s also talk of more support for SMBs and reviews of business rates, workers rights and employer national insurance.
But, right at the heart, and with the endorsement of 120+ big wigs from financial services, retail and manufacturing firms such as Currys, AO and Sage, it’s widely expected for the new government to focus on ‘green’ economic growth which is part of the Prime Minister’s "fundamental mission".
So, what could ‘green economic growth’ actually look like? We got some answers from the King yesterday but more is expected to follow soon:
Transport - public ownership of certain rail operators, bus services to be run locally, and potentially restoring the ban on sales of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030.
Energy - set up Great British Energy with its HQ in Scotland, speed up the transition to clean heating, such as heat pumps to replace gas boilers, ban on onshore wind has been lifted.
National Wealth Fund (NWF) - £7.3bn to be spent over the parliament “to support Labour’s growth and clean energy missions”. This is part of the ‘Green Prosperity Plan’ which could support “the creation of up to 650,000 good jobs in Britain’s industrial heartlands by encouraging billions of private investment”, giving opportunities to a range of workers, such as plumbers, electricians and welders across the UK.
High streets and marketplaces - increased attention to product safety and emerging business models such as AI with the Product Safety and Metrology Bill (for toys, childrenswear and cosmetics initially) to ensure a level playing field between high streets and online marketplaces.
Net zero - Net zero is seen as one of the UK’s biggest economic opportunities. Labour is considering legislation to compel companies and financial institutions to reduce their carbon footprint, including publishing annual emissions and developing transition plans (more on this soon!)
At Earthmark, we’re helping brands and marketplaces be at the heart of this green economic growth movement. Reach out to find out how you can close the gap between “say” and “do” when it comes to empowering climate action amongst user bases.
