So the word on the street is that Lord Mandelson wants everybody to stop being “so darned pessimistic” about the economy and “looked at it on the up side”. The Business Secretary apparently made his comments at a question and answer session with voters recently.
While it seems easy for Lord Mandelson to be so upbeat, it would be interesting to gauge the reaction of the quarter of small businesses, according to our survey, that fear going under if the economy doesn’t turn around in the next year.
Far from being pessimistic, the reality for these small businesses is that conditions are tough and they are struggling. However, it isn’t all doom and gloom and there are countless examples of small businesses doing well and even thriving in the current climate, which is maybe where Lord Mandelson’s optimism stems from. Yet even for these bright spots, measures to provide small businesses with some relief going forward wouldn’t go amiss.
Support is being provided by a number of private organisations at present but, ironically, it is the government that is in the perfect position to help small businesses via the Budget on Wednesday. Maybe the Business Secretary, with his comments, was secretly alluding to some initiatives that will benefit the small business community in the upcoming announcement – namely tax cuts. However, the government has already proven once before, with the pre-Budget report, how out of touch it is with regards to small business’ needs. Therefore, with this track record it’s not surprising that Lord Mandelson’s remarks have led to outrage and accusations of insensitivity. Let’s just hope for his sake, and to restore the confidence of many small businesses, that the Budget delivers…
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