The Business of Events, an independent think tank and advocacy network, has looked at the UK political parties general election manifestos to assess where the events machine might slot in
As the election cycle reaches the halfway point, it now moves into the second phase. Often referred to as the Mood phase, stage one saw the party leaders set out their stalls to voters as the campaign starting gun was fired and each party showed the direction of travel it would take as they tried to gain early ground in the political process.
This week saw the campaign move on to the Manifesto phase, where each of the party leaders, often with sleeves rolled up, sets out their specific policies and how they are essentially going to make the lives of people across the UK better, and therefore why we should vote for them.
We have reviewed each of the three major party’s manifestos, Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat, to identify how each of these could, potentially, impact, either positively or negatively, the UK’s already significant event economy.
Liberal Democrats
For a Fair Deal, was the Lib Dems theme, as they were the first party out of the blocks with their Manifesto. On the positive side, the proposal for a dedicated Minister for Tourism & Hospitality, something that the industry has been calling for over many years, should be welcomed, as this would most likely include the events sector in their portfolio, and increase the importance of the industry within Government.
However, while its proposal to make the UK a leader in sustainable air travel should be welcomed, its ban on further expansion of airport infrastructure would certainly limit growth in capacity and therefore potentially reduce the UK’s ability to attract major international events.
While there were five individual references to tourism in the Lib Dem Manifesto, there were no references to business events or any mention of the events sector.
Conservative & Unionist Party
With its theme of Clear Plan – Bold Action – Secure Future, the Conservatives were next to launch their Manifesto, choosing Silverstone as the location, much to the delight of the headline writers.
Unlike the Lib Dems, there were no specific references to tourism in their, rather dry, Manifesto, although there was some mention of cultural events, and a commitment to ensure that tax incentives for film and television remain, something that we have been pushing to have expanded to include the events sector.
While this was heavily commented on leading up to the official launch, a commitment to increase visitor visa fees by an eye watering 25%, will undoubtably deter some business visitors, and potentially some business events with an international audience, less likely to choose the UK.
One major positive, was a clear commitment to urgently introduce Martyn’s Law, an event security bill named in tribute to Martyn Hett, who was one of the 22 victims of the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing, and who’s mother, Figen Murray OBE, has been working tirelessly with the events sector to get this important legislation passed.
Labour Party
Mirroring the Conservatives, Labour, with its single Change theme, reminiscent of the Obama campaign in 2008, also made no specific reference to tourism or the events sector, other than a passing mention to certain sporting events, such as the UEFA European Football Championship, ICC Women’s T20 World Cup and the Invictus Games.
Interestingly, they are the only major party to look to returning to having a new Industrial Strategy and sectoral approach, something that was very prominent during the Cameron/Osborne era, and one which the events sector benefitted from.
As with others, there is a commitment to promote sustainable aviation fuels, as well as encouraging airspace modernisation, although it’s unclear what this really means.
The creation of GB Railways, and essentially returning to a nationalised rail industry, could result in better and more joined up travel for delegates and business travellers, but that will be a very long way off and far from guaranteed.
As we have highlighted previously, Labour have said that they want to reset the relationship with European Union post Brexit, and work to remove any unnecessary barriers to trade, but at the same time have ruled out a return to the single market or freedom of movement.
So, as we enter the second half of the campaign, and into the final Message phase, where each party will essentially be hammering home its core narrative, where does this leave the events sector?
With the Conservatives continuing to be around 20 points behind in the polls, and barring some extraordinary event, we will see a Labour administration take office on 5th July. Indeed, even current Ministers have been pushing this message of a significant Labour majority over recent days, and will likely continue to do so, alongside the smaller parties.
What becomes even more important right now is the make-up of the opposition, and not just the official one. The Conservative benches are likely to be very much changed and depleted and, if you believe the polls, the Lib Dems much stronger in terms of number of MPs. Nigel Farage’s Reform could, theoretically, overtake the Conservatives in the overall share of vote, with one poll putting them 1% point ahead, although that’s highly unlikely to translate to seats. Why is this important? Because firstly we need to have a strong opposition that can hold any new Government to account and prevent it from introducing policies that could be damaging to any sector of the economy.
There are already rumours circulating Westminster that Labour plan to shorten the annual Parliamentary summer recess, where MP’s normally get an extended break, to enable some of its legislation to get pushed through as quickly as possible.
In addition, and we have witnessed this first hand through our work with the APPG for Events, despite the public political posturing, within Parliament there is a great deal of collaboration between all political parties, MPs and advisors, and that is often where progress is made.
This is why the need for strong advocacy and political engagement within our sector is even greater than ever, and why we will continue to highlight the opportunities that business events can deliver for our country and to campaign for policies and initiatives that create a stronger UK event economy.
