Research out this week showing that Britain’s pool of entrepreneurs has waned under Labour. The number of new businesses created per thousand people fell from 3.2 to 3 between 1997 and 2004. Since Labour came into power in 1997 there has been an increased dependence on public sector employment. This has had a huge impact on promoting entrepreneurship. Individuals weigh-up the risks and rewards associated with wage employment and business ownership. With increased levels of public sector employment available, individuals may be less inclined to take entrepreneurial risks and choose relatively secure wage employment. So the growth of the public sector is crowding out private enterprise. When you talk to business owners, either individually or via the main trade bodies, the biggest headache they have is the increase under Labour of the bureaucracy involved with employing people. The list of new employment laws is endless; relations with staff have been bureaucratised and all decisions on work patterns now have to be documented. Rights rule rather than common sense. The result? Recruitment agencies now report that they are being asked by employers not to send over CVs of women of child-bearing age.
The Telegraph