Campaigning
IPSE fights for what is right for you and your business. We campaign to Government and industry leaders to build a better world so you can grow your business and be happy and healthy in your everyday life.
CEO update October 2022: New Prime Minister, IR35 repeal U-turn and celebrating freelancers
- 3 Nov 2022
October has been a rollercoaster of a month in politics. Every week of the last month has seen major new developments for not only the self-employed, but for the whole country. Liz Truss stepped down after just 50 days as Prime Minister and soon after we saw Rishi Sunak move back into Downing Street.
Jeremy Hunt made the bitterly disappointing announcement regarding the IR35 repeal U-turn - a huge blow to thousands of self-employed contractors and the businesses that they work with, and a decision that will stifle the economy as we try and hold off the real potential for a recession.
In anticipation of the upcoming Autumn budget, we have sent in our submission to HM Treasury, stressing the need something to be done about IR35, now that the government has acknowledged the problems it is causing. Our press release slamming the ‘spineless’ government over the IR35 U-turn featured in The Daily Telegraph and The Financial Times with Andy Chamberlain, Head of Policy here at IPSE, speaking on a panel on Radio 4 to discuss the issue further.
Campaigning and policy work
Our policy team has responded to the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee inquiry into UK Labour supply, stressing the impact of IR35 and the pandemic in reducing overall numbers of the self-employed.
We have also responded to HMRC’s data consultation with “deep concerns” about their plans to require limited company directors to report the origin of dividends payments while also reporting shareholding structure.
We’ve also responded to the Public Accounts Committee inquiry into Covid-19 Employment Support Schemes, highlighting the flaws in the design of SEISS and the lack of support for limited company directors.
Engaging with our community
Despite everything going on this month, our members in Plymouth and Manchester took the time to come together as part of our in-person meet-ups. This is always a great opportunity for like-minded members to engage with the community in an informal setting. The local meetups allow you to expand your network and strengthen business opportunities, and we hope, boost your sense of wellbeing by sharing experiences with others. We look forward to our next one this month which will be hosted by IPSE member Jenny Stallard in Chipping Norton! If you would like to work with Team IPSE in hosting a local member meet up, please contact [email protected] and we will help make it happen.
We have been busy judging for the upcoming Freelancer Awards, and we are looking forward to the Awards later this month – best of luck to all of the brilliant finalists!
As part of Black History Month, we published threads on Twitter opening up a conversation on underrepresented communities who want to start a business. We spoke to IPSE member Nadine Campbell and Natalie and Denhue, founders of Little Scholars Playground, who gave us an insight into their experiences. We would like to hear from you on LinkedIn about what the self-employed need from a Rishi Sunak government – use this link to have your say.
It's election time!
And last but by no means least, we will be looking to fill an elected position on the Board and voting on the final shortlist of candidates will be open to IPSE members. We are asking any IPSE member with relevant professional experience, commercial insight and personal strengths to put themselves forward. If you are successful, you will be playing your part in taking the decisions which will shape IPSE’s future, as well as ensuring that it is well-run in the present. For information on how to stand, click here and for those that do stand, good luck!
Join a community
When you join IPSE, you join a supportive community of people who have chosen to be their own boss, just like you. Events, forums and our online groups, all help you get to know other IPSE members from a range of industries.
Upcoming events
IPSE organises, supports and collaborates on over 100 events every year, from practical webinars, networking events and conferences. IPSE sources experts in their field to support the self-employed, with the events covering a wide range of topics.
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