CEO Blog: Manifesto Week - No Upsets, No Big Surprises, But Plenty to Build on 

James de le Vingne, Chief Executive of the eoa, dives into the manifestoes released this week, what they mean for employee ownership, and his hopes for an incoming government. 

Image: Canva photos

This week, along with many of you, we’ve been listening to, reading about, and assessing the general election manifestos of most of the UK’s main political parties.   

The policies laid out in these documents will shape the economic and regulatory landscape in which businesses operate for years to come. 

The Lib Dems

First out the blocks were the Liberal Democrats, and we were off to a flying start! The Lib Dems are the only party to make an explicit reference to employee ownership, with a commitment to promote EO by “giving staff in listed companies with more than 250 employees a right to request shares, to be held in trust for the benefit of employees.”  

Their drive to strengthen worker participation in decision-making, including staff representation on remuneration committees, and requiring all UK-listed companies and all private companies with more than 250 employees to have at least one employee representative on their board, is also commended.   

There were some positive signals regarding proposals to change Capital Gains Tax (GCT) that we’d want to explore further.  

The Tories

The Conservatives followed with emphasis on “stability and continuity” which, as we know, is crucial for long-term business planning and investment.   

Although no reference to EO, we welcomed the commitment to not raising CGT rates, whilst we still await any response to the EOT consultation.   

The indirect reference to community wealth building in relation to NHS spending was a welcome surprise, as were the positive references to Basel III regulation, making sure new capital requirements on banks do not inhibit lending to SMEs. 

The commitment to creating 100,000 more apprenticeships and working with businesses to make them accessible is commendable, but they need to go further.  

We support our ally Family Business UK in its call for a future skills fund that meets the skills and training needs that is easy to access for all business and helps businesses to grow. 

The Green Party published on Wednesday with a manifesto heavily focussed on sustainability and environmental protection, increasingly relevant for businesses facing pressure to adopt greener practices.  

They proposed a gradual increase in the corporation tax to 24%, using the revenue to fund a comprehensive Green New Deal.  

This plan includes massive investments in renewable energy, sustainable infrastructure, and green technology, which could open up new markets and drive innovation, positioning the UK as a leader in the global transition to a low-carbon economy which we heard about at our most recent Robert Oakeshott Lecture. 

Last up, and hosted in my hometown of Manchester, was Labour.   

As expected, Labour has committed to “doubling the size of the co-operative and mutual economy” – to the uninitiated, EO sits under the government’s 'mutual' definition - and we believe doing so is essential in any plan for growth and wealth creation. 

Commitments to closing tax loopholes and preventing tax avoidance is welcome, as is the commitment to producing a tax roadmap. 

There is of course a great amount of detail not summarised here. Our first task was to check for surprises and red flags, and so far, so good.

However, there’s so much more that can be done to make sure employee ownership is effectively supported, all of which is set out in the eoa manifesto. 

Holistic Approach to Growing EO 

With all parties calling for growth, we can see opportunities for a more holistic approach to growing EO in the UK and urge any future government to work with us to accelerate the growth of a sector of businesses that will be innovating, investing, and creating more jobs across the UK. 

We need them to join our England and UK regions that are committed to growing inclusive and democratic businesses, by setting clear targets including specifically for EO and adopt our asks to futureproof the EOT and flex existing tax incentives and reliefs to help dial up growth opportunities for our maturing EO businesses to deliver better economic certainty and livelihood outcomes.  

For any government there’s an easy win to create a more certainty in the economy with a focus on succession planning for businesses – a part of the business support offer in the UK that remains extremely weak.    

This would help SMEs of all shapes and sizes to have more robust approaches to succession planning, with employee ownership as one of the options, helping secure a more thoughtful and impactful handover.  

It would encourage a view on the longer term for SMEs and, where appropriate, an employee stake in the future of these businesses where it would offer certainty and sustainability, resulting in great jobs for future generations. 

Moreover, the ‘Generation EO: The Great Succession Opportunity’ report found that 120,000 SMEs intend to divest or sell their shareholding over the next decade - with 43% predicting the business will need to find completely new owners or face closure. 

A piece of simple education and investment in supporting succession could support an estimated 51,000 business owners who are likely to sell or divest their business share in the next 10 years make a considered plan for these business stakes and offer more people a stake ownership in the places and communities in which they live and work. 

Imagine if Aarman Animations had sold to Dreamworks, where would that leave the millions of investment the business creates in the region, the area’s identity and the surrounding industry of 190 production businesses and hundreds of freelancers, if such a business sold to the highest bidder? 

Imagine if Riverford Organic Farmers had sold to private investors who used the land to make its money and then sold it - the jobs, the investment, and the environment would suffer. 

And while many businesses struggle to cling on to the high street, we see Richer Sounds continue and once again-winning ‘Which Retailer of the Year’, while innovations in the medical sciences and advanced manufacturing sectors through businesses such as Pennine healthcare and Gripple are driven by their shared values, purpose and stake in the businesses, not just impacting employees and the business, but important innovations that can change people’s lives. 

So much in all of the party manifestos are still so very vague, so there’s work for us to do to understand and influence on our manifesto, which is so very clear what is needed. 

We have the insights, we have the expertise and the drive to continue our constructive engagement and position ourselves on current and future boards, in alliances and partnerships to ensure sure that employee ownership is supported, to deliver what employees, businesses and communities need more of in the UK. 

Want to work with us, get in touch. 

James de le Vingne, 
Chief Executive of the eoa