Small businesses have spoken out against the speech Ed Miliband made to the Labour Party conference in Liverpool yesterday, claiming he does not understand how jobs are created.
Despite the fact that it gained praise from union bosses, both the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) and British Chamber of Commerce have spoken out about Mr Miliband’s simplistic view of good versus bad companies.
They added that insisting companies must offer apprenticeships was not necessarily viable in the real world and could lead to small companies missing out.
Politicians making decisions on the everyday workings of small businesses does not work in practice and it should be up to investors and customers to decide they claimed.
The FSB is a pressure group which represents the interests of the self-employed and owners of small businesses throughout the UK.
John Longworth, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, said: “Ed Miliband is right to say that all parties must be pro-business, and that wealth creation is critical to Britain’s future. Yet talk of ‘good’ versus ‘bad’ companies misses the point. All businesses that create wealth, pay their taxes and comply with the law are good companies.”
