A hung Parliament?

Should we care that next week we may have a hung parliament in the UK? M Institute co-founder Jyoti Banerjee investigates the options.

I see that a recent study of growing businesses by the British Chambers of Commerce finds that two-thirds are concerned or very concerned about the impact of not having a majority party, while only one in seven respondents feel that it would be a good thing.

Let’s try and place the hung parliament discussion in context. The one thing that medium enterprises crave from their politicians is a stable economy so that business decisions within the firm are not constantly upset by changes without. But it is not just a stable economy that they need. Medium businesses also need top-flight transport and communications infrastructure, access to finance, and a well-educated workforce.

So ask yourself this question? Will a hung parliament actually deliver any of these hopes? Or will it stand in the way of achieving these objectives?

It is reasonable to expect the main political parties to be different from each other, and given the opportunity to exercise their policies, the UK could look very different in a Labour regime of Big Government, compared to a Tory government of Small Government / Big Society, or even Nick Clegg’s Open Government.

But reality is likely to be very different. While each of them could lead Britain into completely different economic territory, that is going to take rather a long time. I suspect Britain’s appetite for a hung parliament may not last long enough to see change on that scale. In fact, a split leadership may not even last the course of a single parliament.

Should we care that next week we may have a hung parliament in the UK? M Institute co-founder Jyoti Banerjee investigates the options.

I see that a recent study of growing businesses by the British Chambers of Commerce finds that two-thirds are concerned or very concerned about the impact of not having a majority party, while only one in seven respondents feel that it would be a good thing.

Let’s try and place the hung parliament discussion in context. The one thing that medium enterprises crave from their politicians is a stable economy so that business decisions within the firm are not constantly upset by changes without. But it is not just a stable economy that they need. Medium businesses also need top-flight transport and communications infrastructure, access to finance, and a well-educated workforce.

So ask yourself this question? Will a hung parliament actually deliver any of these hopes? Or will it stand in the way of achieving these objectives?

It is reasonable to expect the main political parties to be different from each other, and given the opportunity to exercise their policies, the UK could look very different in a Labour regime of Big Government, compared to a Tory government of Small Government / Big Society, or even Nick Clegg’s Open Government.

But reality is likely to be very different. While each of them could lead Britain into completely different economic territory, that is going to take rather a long time. I suspect Britain’s appetite for a hung parliament may not last long enough to see change on that scale. In fact, a split leadership may not even last the course of a single parliament.