41% of SMEs expected to vote Conservative
By Jordan WilliamsA survey by peer-to-peer lending platform Funding Circle indicates that small businesses are three times more likely to vote Conservative than Labour
Section: mobile apps categories
Some 41% of small businesses surveyed said they would vote Conservative in the general election, followed by Labour with 13%, Liberal Democrats on 9% and UKIP on 3%.
The survey found that 40% of small businesses believed that tax was the most important policy area, followed by Brexit (26%).
Funding Circle’s research also found that most small businesses are optimistic about their future turnover prospects despite the current uncertainty, with nearly 70% saying they expected it to increase within the next 12 months.
Half those expecting a rise in turnover believed it will increase by between 6-20%.
Only 6% of respondents said they expected their turnover to decrease.
James Meekings, co-founder and UK managing director at Funding Circle, said: “It is heartening to hear that small businesses are optimistic about the next 12 months, despite the uncertainty caused by Brexit and a snap general election.
“Future UK prosperity depends on small businesses as they provide much-needed job creation and economic growth.
“This is why access to finance is crucial.”
More than half (55%) of respondents said they plan to hire at least one new full-time member of staff over the next year.
Keywords: Peer-to-peer lending, P2P, Funding Circle, Small Businesses, SMEs, Small and medium-sized businesses, commercial finance, business funding SME lending, alternative finance, specialist finance, Brexit, EU referendum
Source: Bridging & Commercial — https://bridgingandcommercial.co.uk/41-of-smes-expected-to-vote-conservative