Author: Tim Parker
Chartered Financial Planner, Associate Director - Member of the Investment Committee
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Published: June 2024
Following on from my previous Blogs around the election, we now have some juicy bits to get our teeth into – the manifestos. Labour have focused on ‘wealth creation’. Their manifesto called Financial Services “one of Britain’s greatest success stories”; of course we would like to agree with that. It also said Labour will “create conditions to support innovation and growth in the sector, through supporting new technology, including open banking and open finance and ensuring a pro-innovation regulatory framework”. So far, so good for Financial Services.
Both Labour and the Conservatives have pensions high on the agenda with the Liberal Democrats also looking to propose changes. Labour are looking at reforms to workplace pensions and a “review of the pensions landscape to consider what further steps are needed to improve pension outcomes”. The Conservatives are going further on State Pensions with the ‘Triple Lock Plus’ – meaning state pensioners will have a personal allowance above the full new state pension and therefore won’t be subject to income tax on this state pension. On the opposite end of the age spectrum, the Conservatives would open up automatic enrolment into workplace pensions from age 18 rather than 22, and would gradually increase the minimum contributions to 8% from the first £1, rather than only on earnings above £6,240. Anything that helps to provide positive outcomes for clients is welcome, but equally some stability in the pension market would be good. The Liberal Democrats said they would require pension funds and managers to show their portfolio investments are consistent with the Paris Agreement*.
Meanwhile, in other areas, the Tories are planning to reduce National Insurance by 2p for employees and abolish the main-rate for the self-employed, fund 100,000 apprenticeships for young people and increase NHS spending.
Labour plan to cut NHS waiting times, recruit 6,500 new teachers and ‘will not’ increase National Insurance or the basic, higher or additional rates of income tax or VAT, but have confirmed they are closing the tax break on VAT on Independent School fees – while capping Corporation Tax at the current level.
The Liberal Democrats plan to rejoin the single market with a ‘longer-term’ objective of rejoining the EU, introduce free personal care in England similar to Scotland, promise 8,000 more GPs and give all urgently referred cancer patients the 62-day guarantee.
This is just a sample and there are too many to mention here. I’m sure we will hear plenty more over the coming weeks.
This all sounds good, and maybe the cynical side of me says that’s what manifestos are supposed to do. What it does mean, is that you should be reviewing your circumstances to ensure current opportunities are taken advantage of and speak to one of our Chartered Financial Planners who will work together with you through the ever-changing financial landscape.
If you would like to talk to one of our Chartered Financial Planners, please contact us on 01223 233331 or email info@mmwealth.co.uk.
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