Edward Simpson, Director of Government Affairs & Stakeholder Engagement
As the dust settles on another party conference season, the shadow of Reform looms large.
The season kicked off with a two-day sojourn at the NEC, Birmingham for the new kids on the block, Reform. Nigel Farage’s speech focused on cutting immigration, scrapping “harmful, wasteful” net zero policies and cutting public sector waste. Described by those on the ground as akin to a rally, there were fewer fringe events than is the norm for the traditional parties. Although some notable businesses provided sponsorship, chief executives were reluctant to attend, instead sending colleagues and agencies. The challenge remains that with only four MPs and a limited staff, the party’s capacity to design policies based on hard evidence is limited.
The Lib Dem gathering in Bournemouth, usually the most sunlit of conference venues, was a more measured affair. Their party’s pitch for the business audience was on energy security; rejoining the EU Customs Union; clear rules, quicker approvals and well-resourced regulators as drivers for growth. Daisy Cooper, the Treasury Spokesperson pledged a windfall tax on banks (taxing profits from QE) to establish an Energy Security Bank Policy which would provide households with loans of up to £20,000 to invest in solar panels, heat pumps and insulation. Small businesses and community energy groups would be eligible for loans of up to £50,000.
In Liverpool, the Prime Minister described growth as the “defining mission” of his government, but as with Ed Davey the week before, set his remarks in the context of the threat posed by Reform. The Chancellor’s speech was more noticeable for what it didn’t say, which is perhaps not surprising given what will be a defining Budget Statement on 26 November. Nevertheless, the FLA engaged with Ministers in roundtables on how to improve the UK’s investibility and to help SMEs grow. These conversations will continue back in London.
Numbers attending the Conservative event in Manchester were significantly down, but the party is now turning its attention to policy development. In her speech to the main hall, Kemi Badenoch pledged to limit availability of Motability vehicles to those with the most serious conditions as part of a clampdown on the welfare bill. Shadow Chancellor, Mel Stride’s remarks centred on tax cuts, deregulation, and shrinking the state to drive growth. Mark Garnier, the Shadow City Minister, told us that they will review the changes to financial supervision brought in under FSMA 2012. He believes that the current disconnect between regulators and industry about how to stimulate growth results from the FCA not paying sufficient attention to the competitiveness objective.
Away from the conference halls, the FLA and Fair4All Finance brought together FLA members, social lenders, academics and consumer representatives to consider how to unlock access to safe and sustainable credit for those not served by the regulated market. The forthcoming National Financial Inclusion Strategy represented a ‘once in a generation’ opportunity. Our message was that access to safe and sustainable credit was critical for people to be involved in the economy, to drive productivity and to realise growth. As such, it would be a boon for financial inclusion if the FCA set out its vision for the non-prime consumer credit market. Plenty of ideas emerged including to make more use of Opening Banking to reduce rejection rates; move away from the monthly cycle of shared credit data which did not serve customers with irregular income for whom a weekly approach was more appropriate; and to share rental data to enable millions of renters to build up a credit history.