Latest thinking

A letter from George Osborne to the self-employed

Blog

05 Feb 2015

Benedict Dellot

George Osborne couldn't make our Self-employment Summit. But he made up for it by pinging over this short message to the self-employed community.

Taking self-employment seriously

Blog

28 Jan 2015

Benedict Dellot

Self-employment is the economic trend that everyone is talking about. Why? Because the number of people in this line of work has grown by 30 per cent since 2000, with the result that a record 1 in 7 of the workforce now answer to themselves.

Political gridlock may be coming – and it may be no bad thing

Blog

19 Jan 2015

Anthony Painter

Looking at the various election predications in terms of seats, it is entirely possible that no party will be able secure a decent majority - even in Coalition.

Who in the world is Pascal Gielen?

Blog

16 Jan 2015

Benedict Dellot

Have you ever heard of Pascal Gielen?

Political ignorance is on the rise and must be countered

Blog

04 Jan 2015

Maybe I am over-reacting but the second half of 2014 seemed to mark a growing boldness on the part of the politically ignorant to speak openly.

Boosting protection for the self-employed is a priority. But so too is raising awareness of existing entitlements

Blog

09 Dec 2014

Benedict Dellot

There was some good news for the business community in the Autumn Statement. The Chancellor promised to extend the Funding for Lending scheme, which channels low-cost finance to banks providing loans to small businesses. There was also a commitment to carry on with Small Business Rate Relief, as well as to scrap the National Insurance contributions employers have to pay for apprentices.

Big Idea: Wikipedia Voice Introductions

Blog

08 Dec 2014

Imagine reading a Wikipedia biography, and the subject says hello and introduces themselves. That’s the idea behind a project run by Fellow Andy Mabbett, called The “Wiki Voice Introduction Project” (“Wiki VIP”- geddit?)

The 21st C organisation will be small, decentralised and flat. The very opposite of the 20th C organisations that still cling on to power.

Blog

28 Nov 2014

Maybe we will look back and see this as one of history’s great coincidences: Henry Ford’s first Model T was manufactured in October 1908; exactly one-hundred years later Bitcoin was launched in October 2008. What’s the coincidence, you may ask.

Some ideas for taking self-employment to the mainstream

Blog

25 Nov 2014

Benedict Dellot

This blog first appeared on the Progress website, as part of a series of self-employment articles guest edited by Toby Perkins MP, the Shadow Small Business Minister.