Nov
25
At 3pm on the 25th November, less than 24 hours after Darling’s pre-budget report, seven members of the Nottingham University Conservative Association took their seats in the front rows of a conference room in Nottingham, ready to listen to Alan Duncan’s speech to business leaders from across the region.
The speech was frank and honest, from a man who gets to the point. The main point Alan emphasized was the fact that the 2.5% cut in VAT would actually lose more money for many businesses than before the cut. This is due to the fact that firms will now have to change their infrastructures, at a time when time is already tight due to the Christmas period. For instance, businesses will not have to alter prices in line with this cut, to upgrade their computer software, and to pay their accountancy fees when the rate changes from 17.5% to 15% and then do it all over again when it goes back to 17.5% a year later. Furthermore, Alan explained how companies that have already printed their catalogues for Christmas will now own thousands of incorrectly priced catalogues which are useless to everyone. Conservatives.com has reported that the total cost of all this administration will be over £300m, and individual firms could face bills of at least £2,250.
The timing of this cut in VAT is simply bizarre- the one time when companies are guaranteed some business is at Christmas, but now customers are going to hold out until the cuts come into play on Monday to save a bit of money, thus rendering the rest of this trading week worthless.
Whilst in the conference room we heard the specific situation individual business leaders found themselves in. One man, an executive at Boots, described how they would face costs into the millions to react to the cut in VAT. This is simply appalling and Alan Duncan explained how this is just classic Labour top-down policy which cannot see the real picture on ground level and the effect on businesses.
The speech was short but decisive and the unanimous feeling in the room was one of despair at the shocking actions of the government, and a definite sense of yearning for change, change which the Conservative Party have been calling for years. The battle lines have certainly been drawn and we left the speech with a huge sense of loyalty to the Party and deep abhorrence of the Labour government.
The Nottingham University Conservative Association have now organised a debate with the Nottingham Labour Club so that we may articulate some of the fantastic points Alan Duncan made to us during his speech. I urge other University CF branches to do the same.