Business in the thick of it

According Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, 'in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes'. However, there is another certainty - that by June 3 2010 we will have had a general election, and quite possibly, a change of government. Each of the main parties has much to say in terms of their policies, but specifically, what are they each offering businesses?

Conservative policy

The Conservatives would start by reining in government spending and would create an Office for Budget Responsibility. Its job would be to report to Parliament to ensure that government plans are balanced and long term in vision. Recently announced is a plan to cut government spending by a third over the next Parliament.