The Conservative party has released its 2024 manifesto for the 4 July General Election, with the bringing forward of the Tobacco & Vapes Bill, toughening sentences for assaulting a retailer, and abolishing national insurance for those self-employed being among the main policies impacting retailers.
Others include maintaining National Living Wage at two-thirds of median earnings, with current forecasts suggesting it will rise to around £13 per hour by the end of parliament, as well as amendments to business taxation – raising the rate of corporation tax has been ruled out and while extending “full expensing” to allow businesses to deduct the full cost of certain capital investments from their taxable profits was included.
Tobacco & Vapes Bill
Proposed in March, the Tobacco & Vapes Bill set out provisions for the display and packaging of vapes alongside restrictions on tobacco sales.
These provisions include all the required levers needed to enact a complete display ban and plain packaging requirements on vapes that would be identical to similar measures on tobacco products.
The Bill also includes the generational smoking ban, which will mean it will become illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009.
While the manifesto did not detail when this Bill will be enacted, it confirmed the party would bring it ‘forward’. Separately to the Bill, the Conservatives have proposed a disposable vape ban to be carried out in 2025. This was not mentioned in the manifesto.
Crime
The Conservatives also pledged to recruit 8,000 new police officers to ensure a ‘new police officer for every neighbourhood’, giving officers new tools such as facial recognition to catch criminals, and cutting anti-social behaviour by funding every police force to roll out hot-spot policing. The party claims this has already cut anti-social behaviour by up to 50% in some areas.
However, FactCheck analysis has reported that even if they meet the target of adding 8,000 more police officers, there will still be 5% fewer police officers per person than before the Conservatives came to power in 2010.
The manifesto also pledged to toughen sentences for assaults against retailers, and turn criminals away from the cycle of reoffending by investing in rehabilitative services.
Business rates
The party added it would retain current business rates relief to encourage small businesses to grow. At present, business retail rates relief stands at 75% for those based in England, with a complete small business exemption for those with a rateable value of less than £12,000.
Tax
The Conservatives have announced tax cuts for those self-employed and employees in an effort to create “a new culture of enterprise in our country”.
Prime minister Rishi Sunak said that, if elected, the Conservative party will “scrap entirely the main rate of self-employed National Insurance”, as self-employed people don’t have the “same security” that those on payroll do. The party said it would reduce the amount of NI self-employed people pay on profits between £12,570 and £50,270 by 1p each year, meaning by April 2029 they would pay nothing at all.
The move will cost £2.6bn, and is in addition to a further 2p cut in employee National Insurance, which is on top of the 2p promised in the Spring Budget.
This cuts National Insurance to 6% by April 2027, will allegedly see a total tax cut of £1,350 for the average worker on £35,000, and will cost the government £10bn.
Sunak added that the party would “keep cutting taxes in the coming years meaning that by 2027 we will have halved [employees’] National Insurance to 6%” (from its rate last year of 12%).
The manifesto includes a total of £17bn in tax cuts, also comprising changes to basic state pension, child benefit and the abolition of stamp duty for first time buyers.
The Conservatives said they can find £6bn a year to make up for these costs by from cracking down on tax avoidance and gain £12bn from lower welfare payments.
Labour leader Keir Starmer has said his party will not match the 2p National Insurance cuts for employees and accused the Conservative party of a “Jeremy Corbyn-style manifesto”.
Reviving high streets
Convenience stores could see a boost in footfall with the Conservative’s policy to invest in UK towns.
More than 100 towns will be provided with a £20m endowment fund to revive high streets and bring new housing to town centres, while a change in planning laws will see a ‘new lease of life’ in areas as the party hope it will bring back local market days.
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