​ Address common concerns with marginal gains and seismic change

In the world of business lobbying autumn is generally known as ‘Conference Season’ - relentless set-piece gatherings of political parties as well as specific non-political sectors where people come together to discuss matters of common concern.

As Northern Ireland’s largest business organisation FSB is immersed in this engagement, attending seven conferences in the past seven weeks to articulate the concerns and aspirations of members and the SME sector. In political conferences, we attended one of a party in government which is seeking to retain power; one of a party that feels it’s on the cusp of taking power; and one of a party which has an electoral mandate to go straight into power but feels that its leverage is greater by turning away from governing, at least for the moment.

Against this backcloth, FSB identifies the shifting concerns of our members, builds the evidence base, engages with those in government, or who might take power in future, who have the ability to assist - or to impede. Amongst the key issues are those that require a Westminster response, such as taxation and the Windsor Framework; those that need a Stormont response; and those at local council level. In terms of Westminster, we had excellent engagement with Rishi Sunak, as well as the Chancellor, the Business Secretary and many more; and with Sir Keir Starmer, and also each of those Labour Party figures shadowing the key Ministers, as well as individual MPs from other parties.

In local government, we are engaged in meetings with all main parties across the eleven councils to focus on specific issues where they can deliver significant improvements. And at Stormont, our engagement includes not only elected politicians but now also officials who are effectively holding the fort and administering services. Whilst civil servants might rue the lack of Ministers and adequate funding, that must not be allowed to be a smoke screen for poor performance in those ongoing processes that are being badly delivered. The most visible example of failure in this regard is in timely payment of invoices, which has become truly shocking, but also others such as planning and infrastructure delivery. Poor performance in these doesn’t save the public purse any money - and improving it doesn’t cost money either – but it does needless damage to SMEs which are the backbone of the entire economy.

Conference season has now concluded for the moment, but its value is high. The party conferences are an opportunity for stakeholders to ensure that those who seek the votes of business owners fully understand what they must do to earn that support. Evidence of the importance they attach can be seen from the high profile, high value engagement opportunities they shared at their various events, with FSB uniquely being courted at each event because of the size and diversity of the sector we represent. It can also be seen from the major achievements we have secured for small businesses – from removing the barrier to jobs by successfully lobbying for the Employment Allowance, to securing valuable rates reliefs, and getting childcare right to the top of the political agenda.

Engagement will now step back from the conference spotlight and return to the more familiar conversations and evidence-based advocacy that we deploy to move the SME agenda forward, with politicians and civil servants alike. Business is often cited as seeking stability and predictability yet, regrettably, international events, domestic issues and an impending General Election mean this aspiration will doubtless be deferred. Thus, there is an even more compelling imperative for all of those who can positively influence the situation to do so. To draw on the massively successful approach of competitive cycling, ‘marginal gains’ will have a lot to contribute so, instead of waiting for the big political moments to arrive and deliver seismic change, we should all keep a relentless focus on doing everything we can, however small, to make those marginal gains. These efforts don’t get the glamour and attention afforded by major conferences but, collectively, they can be just as transformative.

So whether through the high profile of conferences, or the quiet commitment to make marginal gains, we must all strive to meet those ‘common concerns’ and give business the stability it needs to thrive for the benefit of all of us.