Anna Soubry: Norway-style trade would be worst deal for small business
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Version 0 of 1. It’s 8am and Anna Soubry is crowded by small business owners in City-appropriate dress on the balcony of the London Stock Exchange. She’s opening the day’s trade to mark the start of export week. The minister for small business, industry and enterprise, who is firmly in the remain campaign for the EU referendum, follows up the ceremony with a speech focused on why small businesses need us to remain in the EU. While a panel of business representatives discuss exporting opportunities, Soubry answers some of our questions before heading back to parliament. With Soubry fired up post speech, we ask her what a vote out would mean for small businesses. “If we have Brexit, we don’t know what we will get,” she says. “What we do know is that it will take at least two years to untangle ourselves. I don’t think that there’s any doubt that there will be a serious impact on our economy, it will undoubtedly go into decline because the one thing business likes is certainty.” Soubry says the out campaign will be seeking a UK trade deal such as that of Norway, which is part of the European Economic Area (EEA). Soubry argues that while Norway pays for the EU privilege of free movement of labour and goods they are not involved in EU decision making processes. “It will be absolutely the worst of all deals,” she says. In their 2015 party manifesto, the Conservatives set themselves a target of 100,000 more UK companies exporting in 2020 than in 2010 and £1tn in exports. The remain campaign might say Brexit would scupper these targets, but are they even realistic if we stay in? “They are tough targets, but we are right to aim high,” she insists. The manifesto also suggested the government would cut regulation for small businesses. And yet, since the Conservatives were voted in, small business concerns around red tape have not abated. Two issues that have particularly angered the community post-election include the VAT Mini One Stop Shop (Vat Moss) and the spectre of quarterly tax returns. Soubry is adamant that the changes to tax filing will not create quarterly tax returns, but rather that records will need to be updated quarterly. “I think maybe we got the messaging a bit wrong,” she says. “[The changes are] actually a very good idea because it means as a small business you’re on top of how much tax you’re paying. You should be doing these things in any event – knowing what your cashflow is like, knowing where you are financially in your business.” Asked whether the government was taking into account small businesses’ concerns on the issue (as well as the recent Administrative Burdens Advisory Board report), Soubry says: “I honestly think that people have misunderstood what it actually is. It’s phased in, it’s not going to be some ghastly overnight thing. There will absolutely be time for people [to learn the skills, such as how to use online accounting software] and it will actually improve people’s business.” Vat Moss (which changed regulations for those sellers of digital services in the EU meaning that VAT is now charged in the country where the products are bought, rather than where the seller is located) was brought in by the EU. So one might question if it, and similar regulations, could be cut if we voted out? Soubry had nothing to add on Vat Moss. But, she says: “We could still have the rules and regulations and not any say.” In her view, by voting to stay in, the UK will have a positive impact on its relationship with the rest of the EU. “I genuinely believe it will enhance our standing and will strengthen our ability to make the argument for further reform.” Another tenet of Soubry’s argument for staying is the free movement of labour. She says: “I don’t think [the topic] has been properly debated. And I can understand why, we don’t want the debate about the EU to be all about immigration – we want it to be about the economy and the positive benefits the EU has.” But, she adds, the reality is the free movement of labour is a positive for the UK economy. “That freedom and liquidity of workers is critical to so many small businesses. We need to wake up to the reality of what migration is about. They come here to work. The idea that they take British jobs is not true, they add huge value to our economy.” A counter argument might be, why can’t we train up unemployed EU citizens to do the jobs those EU workers are filling? “We should absolutely train up UK workers – but it takes time to do that. And the reality is that there are a lot of EU workers that come here to do jobs that British born workers will not do. “We know we have a skills shortage, but a lot of these jobs are very low-skilled. So we need to look at why it is that people in this country that should be in work are not in work.” But is the government doing enough to support those that provide themselves with work, the self-employed? Soubry may address this point at the IPSE Policy Conference 2016 where she is delivering a keynote speech. Aside from her support for the remain campaign, it will be interesting to see if and how Soubry responds to the recent independent review into self-employment, which called for maternity rights for self-employed women to be brought in line with the statutory minimum. Sign up to become a member of the Guardian Small Business Network here for more advice, insight and best practice direct to your inbox. |