With only a couple of days to go until the General Election, a poll from GoSimpleTax shows more than a third of self-employed people (34%) will vote for Labour on the 4th of July. Another 27% have revealed they think the Conservatives have the best manifesto for the self-employed and 16% back Reform’s policies.
Only 5% of the 422 respondents said they don’t know who they will vote for with a week to go. Of the remaining respondents, nearly one in ten think the Liberal Democrats manifesto is the best for self-employed and 4.5% preferred to go Green.
The most popular policy with the UK’s self-employed is a Liberal Democrats’ pledge, as 92% of people think big businesses should sign up to the prompt payment code – where signatories need to pay 95% of small businesses or contractors within 30 days.
More than 36% agree with the Labour party’s in-work protections pledge to give the self-employed the right to a written contract, as well as health and safety and blacklisting protections. Another 35% believe abolishing Class 4 National Insurance for the self-employed over the course of the next Parliament should take priority.
James Cryne, director at GoSimpleTax, said:
“With more than four million self-employed people in the UK making a significant contribution to the UK economy, this group can often feel overlooked by policymakers and underrepresented in the media. It’s encouraging to see some positive policies in the 2024 manifestos. Despite the most popular policies being led by the Lib Dems – with widespread support for the prompt payment code and 88% of self-employed people supporting their pledge to raise the tax-free allowance – the overall votes place them in fourth position.
“When compared to the latest overall poll tracker,* Labour’s support from the self-employed is actually tracking behind the UK average by 7% and there are 7% more self-employed Conservative voters than the overall polls.
“We hope for a future government that focuses on the UK’s self-employed. After years of delays for initiatives such as Making Tax Digital, it’s time to show support for this hardworking, entrepreneurial group.”
Go Simple Tax was established in 2013 with the mission of providing a Self Assessment solution for individuals to submit their tax return to HMRC without the need for an accountant.
Its software uses artificial intelligence designed to offer nudges and prompts to help you calculate the correct tax, whilst ensuring that no allowances or savings are missed.
It has established ourselves as a leading software provider in Self Assessment, as an enhanced alternative to the HMRC service. The app is used by more than 20,000 individuals and businesses to complete and submit their annual tax returns.
