The electorate doesn’t like Brown, they don’t like some of the most high profile expenses casualties, they don’t like dissenters, they don’t like “celebrity” politicians and they are not interested in single-issue parties or candidates. They also don’t like Cameron and the Conservatives enough to give them a clear mandate. Perhaps most significantly, they don’t think the Lib Dems should do anything more than hold a balance of power.
In essence we will end up with the electorate getting what they want. Brown and his team banished from office. Clegg in a position of influence with Vince Cable at his side. Cameron as prime minister with his wings severely clipped to see if he’s up to the job and probably Osborne sidelined.
I don’t think you could have written that script if you had tried prior to the election. Surprisingly the electorate may have got it right. There were only two MP victory speeches I disliked. The first being Mr Malik in Tooting simply because of his arrogance given his prior conduct and to Ed Balls for his utter contempt to the electorate. Aside from those, most other acceptance speeches were humble and appropriate.
What does the result mean for you and your business? If we get a stable and collaborative government it’s likely the deficit will be cut, taxation altered, business encouraged and the possibility of a tentative recovery. The electorate still needs to understand the gravity of the financial situation in which we find ourselves and the true scale of waste that has gone on under Labour. Having said that this is going to be a very difficult time for politicians and for us too.
What you need to do is ensure that you budget and plan wisely, save for a rainy day, have courage with your investments but also caution with the decisions you take. Don’t cut too harshly but similarly don’t over expand or stretch either. Interest rates could rise, world markets will continue to fluctuate and business conditions will be very choppy indeed.
Not everything is as rosy as I would have liked. Yet this election has been a roller coaster of events and excitement. Ultimately we ended up where we began. With the prospect of a hung parliament. Though not the two parties wedded together that we might have imagined. And one other business lesson for you? Expect the unexpected!
So my Badometer is ironically correct. Gordon Brown is at – 8. With two negatives making a positive if the Conservatives and the Lib Dems do work effectively together, the outcome is a +8. Who would have thought that could have happened?!
