New figures from the Office for National Statistics have revealed that Brits are flocking to contracting as a way of life in droves and droves.
When it comes to throwing off the shackles of the hellish situation known as “a day job,” Brits are lining up around the clock according to the ONS. In fact, when it comes to becoming umbrella company contractor, freelancers, or some other type for sole trader, the number of Brits joining the ranks of the self-employed have gone up by around 54,000 between September and November in 2014 when compared to the same period of time in 2013.
And that is only the number of full-time self-employed; for what it’s worth, the number of part-timers went up by 68,000 over the same period of time. This has made pretty much every trade industry body mad with glee – including the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self Employed, whose chief executive Chris Bryce was more or less chuffed to bits over the new.
Bryce was particularly pleased not just to see the rising levels of self-employed individuals in the UK but the fact that there’s now some 1.45 million female contract workers in the country now. He also predicted that with such a major presence in British society freelancers and other sole traders are likely to be a rather formidable voting block come time for the General Election in a few months.
For what it’s worth, I agree with Bryce. In fact I”m sure that there will be some major courting of self-employed Brits ahead of the big vote in May. The Tories will be sure to beg for another chance, citing their so-called ‘business centric’ approach to governance (read: giving big businesses tax breaks whilst ruining smaller companies’ lives) while Labour will likely do and say anything it takes just to get a few more measly votes. Honestly it’s getting a bit embarrassing for them at this point don’t you think?
Still, whether these campaign promises will bear any fruit for self-employed Brits remains a big fat mystery. I’ll wager that suddenly the next Government, whether Conservative or Labour, is likely to have a very short memory once they claw their way back into power. Mark my words – nobody wins but them!
