Only Labour can deliver the stability businesses need

This article was first published in CityAM on 28th May 2024 - HERE

Business confidence makes and breaks companies. When governments destroy that confidence, they can destroy entrepreneurs too.

Soon after founding and launching Ella’s Kitchen – now the UK’s largest baby food firm – I had a decision to make: should I mortgage my house to raise the £200,000 I needed to take a massive opportunity?

Sainsbury’s had decided to sell my products in more than 300 stores nationwide for a trial six-month period. Now, I needed cash to deliver their order.

It was a risk for both of us. I had to put everything I’d ever worked for on the line and hope the relationship with the supermarket came good. Sainsbury’s had to commit to taking on a new brand, from a new business, in a new packaging format whose founder had no track record running a baby food firm.

The Sainsbury’s buyer didn’t mince her words. They were taking a flyer on me, she said. And she was right.

I remortgaged. The supermarket took the stock. Parents bought into the brand. Soon, Ella’s Kitchen was selling millions of pouches of baby-food, supporting hundreds of workers between its staff and supply chain, and the brand was trusted by customers around the world.

None of that would have happened without confidence – confidence that wouldn’t have been possible without the economic stability of the last Labour government.

That’s why I’m so convinced it’s vital for business that Labour wins this election. Under the Conservatives, entrepreneurs have lived with chaos, drama and – from time to time – farce. We’ve seen unfunded tax cuts, economic plans that terrified financial markets, alongside soaring interest rates and inflation.

It’s all had an impact on anyone running a company or thinking of creating one. And it’s made entrepreneurs wonder whether the current government cares about business at all.

Ella’s Kitchen began exporting within 18 months of trading. That brought enormous new opportunity but also a deep reliance on stable exchange rates. I shudder to think what would have happened if we’d tried that against the backdrop of the last few years.

Labour’s plans to improve workers’ rights will help entrepreneurs too. I read a lot of commentary that suggests there’s a trade-off between growing a firm and striking a fair deal with its staff. That simply wasn’t my experience.

We offered employees regular stock options – £1,000 pounds-worth every year after their first year with the business – and worked hard at making sure they felt they co-owned the company and had a say in its future direction.

When you have that relationship between a business and its staff, they care and think deeply about the company’s future. They arrive on Monday morning with fresh ideas that they’ve nurtured over the weekend. They make a commitment because they have confidence about their own futures.

Risk and uncertainty are inevitable for entrepreneurs; the launch of Ella’s Kitchen was closely followed by the global financial crash. Suppliers let you down. Buyers change their minds. Problems pile up one after another. That’s what running a business is like.

One of the best things a government can do is simply not add to that burden. No more needless political shocks. No more economic crises hand-crafted in Number 11 Downing Street. No more sudden changes of direction.

We need the stability that Labour is promising. We need the competence it is showcasing. With stability and competence comes confidence, and with confidence economic growth. The success or failure of today’s founders building tomorrow’s household name brands will depend on it. It’s time to elect a pro-business government.