Contractors turn their backs on Labour

Changes in legislation which govern the way contractors work in the UK could cost Labour hundreds of thousands of votes according to a recent survey.

Seven hundred UK professional contractors were independently surveyed by freelancers' website, UKTECH, on behalf of Brookson, provider of accountancy, tax advice and other support services to contractors. As the Labour Party's 2008 Conference draws to a close, the survey found that should a General Election be called tomorrow, professional contractors in the UK would vote as follows:

• 67.7 per cent would vote Conservative
  
• 13.6 per cent would vote Liberal Democrat
  
• 16.8 per cent would vote for parties such as Plaid Cymru, UKIP etc
  
• Only 1.8 per cent of UK contractors would vote Labour

What is more, over 90 per cent of those surveyed believe that the Government does not value professional contractors and is missing the important differences between these highly skilled individuals and less qualified temporary employees.

Backlash

Martin Hesketh, managing director of Brookson, said: "Contractors in this country have seen some significant shifts in the legislation that governs the way they run their businesses in recent years, causing a great deal of confusion, upheaval and, in some cases, expense. For this reason, it is not surprising that there is some concern on how the current government views this vital part of the economy.

Martin Hesketh"Contractors provide an invaluable source of highly skilled workers to the UK economy in important sectors such as aerospace, oil and gas, defense and nuclear energy. However, the Government appears to bracket them the same as office temps.

"They are fundamentally different and the Government must recognise this in order to win this section of the electorate back. Some of the recent legislation changes, such as last year's MSC legislation, were brought in to address the issue of disguised employees within an organisation and the lost tax revenue as a result.

"However, modest estimates suggest that there are hundreds of thousands of highly skilled contractors in the UK, who genuinely want to work flexibly, and have been caught up in the changes and faced difficulties as a result.

"Our survey suggests that the Government must now demonstrate an improved understanding of the sector before introducing further legislation or face a backlash. It has the perfect opportunity to do this during the current consultation period covering the tax relief on travel expenses for contractors working through umbrella companies."