Adrian Hyde, President

IPA Insolvency Practitioner newsletter, July 2024

Dear members,

Following Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Party landslide win in the general election, we have a clear mandated Labour government with an entirely different agenda. Our time will now be spent not only on the regular engagement with the Insolvency Service but also on ensuring that we rapidly get up to speed with the new plans that they may have, and to engage with these at the earliest possible time so that our voice is heard. 

Labour’s manifesto promises economic stability, tough spending rules, planning reform, green energy transition and efforts to stimulate economic growth. We will be watching with interest to see if their plan for small businesses, which included tackling late payments, scrapping business rates, revitalising our high streets and giving them a fair chance at public contracts, will have an impact and create increased dynamism in business and more opportunities for entrepreneurs.

With the King’s Speech currently underway, in which he has already stated economic growth will be a ‘fundamental mission’ for the government, and with more information about their plans set to become apparent over the coming months, all eyes will be on Labour to see if they can deliver.

Also of interest is inflation figures, out today, holding steady and showing 2% annual to end of June. Whilst this is encouraging, we all know that there is a significant lag between the general statistical indicators of the health in the economy and the incidence of insolvencies, as our numbers continue to show the extent of distress amongst business. One thing that is certain is that the months to come will be interesting and I’m sure many businesses across the country will be keeping a very close eye on Labour and whether the early signs indicate a positive change for the future.

Best wishes,

Adrian