New figures from the Office for National Statistics have shown a 56 per cent rise in rise in the number of self-employed people in Swindon since 2010, compared to a 13 per cent across the country. Nearly 14K people living in Swindon now work for themselves.
New figures from the Office for National Statistics have shown a 56 per cent rise in rise in the number of self-employed people in Swindon since 2010, compared to a 13 per cent across the country. Nearly 14K people living in Swindon now work for themselves.
In recognition of the growing trend, the Labour Party has recently held a summit on self-employment to discuss how the next Labour government should support the entrepreneurialism of people who set up and build their own business.
Anne Snelgrove, Labour’s parliamentary candidate for South Swindon, herself a former self-employed communications and presentation skills trainer, said: “I know how hard it is to set up on your own from my experience of self-employment. There's very little support now, as all the training courses the government used to fund have been cut. Yet if our economy is to grow, we really need the business ideas of Swindon entrepreneurs to succeed, which includes breaking down the barriers which self-employed people face when they try to apply for a mortgage or save for a pension. That's why I've been listening to local self-employed people and I'll be feeding their ideas back to our Shadow Business Team.”
Chuka Umunna MP, Labour’s Shadow Business Secretary, added: "In recent years we've seen a marked rise in people choosing to become their own boss, but at the same time self-employed people's incomes have been hardest hit by the cost-of-living crisis. And all too often self-employed people are being held back and ignored by government and we've seen entire programmes put in place by ministers which fail to take their needs into account.
“Labour will put self-employed people at the heart of our plans. Where the Tory-led government has failed, the next Labour government will stand squarely with Britain's wealth creators so they can meet their aspirations."