Today will see the most unpredictable election in a generation. The big issues of this campaign have spectacularly failed to include small business, so we thought we’d tackle all the manifestos head on and find out who’s doing what to help people like us!

The Tories

The Big Small-Business Pledges:

• Business rates ‘review’
• Treble the number of Start Up Loans giving 75,000 entrepreneurs the chance to borrow money to boost their businesses.
• ‘Help to Grow’ scheme providing guarantees to banks offering loans to fast-growth businesses
• Referendum on Europe, the result of which could have huge ramifications for small businesses
• Increase the National Minimum Wage to£8/hour

Labour

The Big Small-Business Pledges:

• Cut business rates and freeze them for around 1.5 million small businesses across the country
• Set up an investment bank and network of local banks that will aid small and micro businesses looking to grow
• Increase the National Minimum Wage to£8/hour

Lib Dems

The Big Small-Business Pledges:

• Replace business rates with a land-value tax
• Prioritise SMEs for any business tax cuts

UKIP

The Big Small-Business Pledges:

• Crackdown on late payments by big business to small.
• 20% rate relief on properties with a ratable value up to £50 000
• Exemption from certain compliance rules for SMEs including displaying weights and measures in metric
• Leave the EU

The Green Party

The Big Small-Business Pledges:

• Work towards a 35-hour working week
• A living wage of 60% of national average
• Make contracting self-employed people at below the minimum wage illegal
• Introduce a network of community banks to provide finance to small business