Freelancers' champion in Tory Treasury team

The political champion of the freelancers' cause, Mark Prisk MP, has been appointed Shadow Financial Secretary to the Treasury.

This is seen as a rapid rise for Mark Prisk who entered Parliament at the last general election. Prior to that, he was a self employed businessman and has become known as one of the strongest advocates for small businesses in Parliament.

Mark, Conservative MP for Hertford and Stortford, was the architect of the Right to Be Self Employed Bill, which he introduced to Parliament through the 10-Minute Rule process. He is also Treasurer to the All Party Parliamentary Small Business Group, one of the largest special interest groups in Parliament; and he sits on the Genesis Senate, a body of businessmen and women, politicians and others with an interest in small businesses. Mark is also the Chairman of the East Hertfordshire Business Forum and Honorary Vice President of the Small Business Bureau.

He was a self employed businessman and company director between 1989-2001, advising a wide range of professional firms in the markets for property, construction and environmental services both in the UK and abroad. He specialised in providing strategic marketing and communication advice and support.

Mark Prisk MP: "Ministers have little or no experience of the real world of the self-employed or of their businesses"

The Right to Be Self-Employed Bill

Mark gained popularity with contractors for his attempts to bring forward his own private members' Bill, The Right to Be Self-Employed. The aim of the Prisk Bill was to create certainty for the UK's four million self-employed workers, including IT workers, all of whom he said 'act as the backbone of the country's economy.' Although the Bill ran out of time, Mark gained cross party support for his measure and was committed to continuing his work for the freelance community.

At the time, he told MPs that the current approach to defining self-employed status was 'confusing, wasteful, adversarial and unfair.'

UKTECH reported the early stages of the Prisk Bill in January 2002, Self-employment rights Bill supported across all parties.

The details of its fall in July 2002 are reported in 'Self-employment Bill's death is not the end'

UKTECH interview

In February 2002, UKTECH reporter, Richard Powell, did an in-depth interview with Mark Prisk where he outlined his vision for the small business community. He said: "We must change the status of the self-employed. Just look at the way banks treat these businesses for mortgage purposes. We need to radically simplify the taxation and welfare systems. We should increase the freedom to choose your status from a number of different categories and we must significantly increase the experience of those in Government of what it is like to run a small business."

The full interview with Mark Prisk can be read in the article UKTECH interviews Self-Employment Rights Bill Architect.

How to lobby your MP

In July 2002, Mark Prisk wrote a conference paper for UKTECH readers with advice on 'How to lobby your MP'. In a 'from the horse's mouth' article he told them which is the best way to make an impression with their Parliamentary representatives. Mark's original article is here.

IR35

Just over a year ago in November 2001, Mark Prisk initiated and opened a debate about small businesses in Westminster Hall.

He was also critical of IR35 and the increasing regulatory environment in which small businesses had to operate.

Mr Prisk said: "All politicians and members of the media happily use the phrase: 'small businesses' to cover a wide variety of enterprises and work. A real example is that of someone who is self-employed, a sole trader or a freelance. There are now four million self-employed people in Britain. Sadly, the Government's determination to push through the IR35 proposal has badly undermined their expectations about working in this country."

He added small businesses were struggling under a record 3,865 regulations passed the previous year and warned international competitiveness had slipped from 9th in the world in 1997 to 19th in 2001.

UKTECH's report of the Parliamentary debate: 'Iniquity of IR35's tax burden' discussed in Westminster.

Also, in the UKTECH article Government tells SBS to promote entrepreneurs.

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Susie Hughes