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After a landslide general election victory in which Keir Starmer’s Labour won 412 seats (out of a possible 650) and ousted the Conservative government, the UK has a new ruling party and a new prime minister. It marks the start of a new era for the country after 14 years under the right-wing Conservative Party, for the last 20 months led by Rishi Sunak.
Labour says its top priorities include providing economic stability with clear rules on tax and spending. Among the relevant pledges for fashion, beauty and retail is a promise to replace the business rates system in England (which critics say penalises companies with bricks-and-mortar stores). However, it remains unclear if the new government will reinstate VAT-free shopping, and there are question marks over how it will tackle several other key issues facing the industry.
Here’s how members of the British fashion and beauty communities are responding.
Stavros Karelis, founder of fashion concept store Machine-A
I think this landmark victory of the Labour Party signifies the absolute need for change. The new prime minister will be tasked with a heavy amount of work, especially in this difficult financial and sociopolitical time. I really hope that they will prioritise the return of tax-free shopping for tourists, a measure that practically destroyed many retailers and had such a significant negative impact to our businesses. As a Greek living in the UK for more than 15 years, I really hope that the new government will try and rethink how they can rectify many issues created by Brexit, such as allowing the free movement of people and products within the EU, as well as strengthening financial relationships with EU countries. I hope Labour will support fashion and arts education and support young people and vulnerable members of our society with the current cost of living crisis as well as ensuring freedom and protection of gender identity laws.
Tamara Cincik, founder and CEO of think tank Fashion Roundtable
It is great to see that creativity as a driver for growth is now a key policy pledge from the new government, and that STEAM [science, technology, engineering, the arts and maths] education will be part of state school curriculums again in England, as it is in Scotland and Wales. The skills we need [in fashion] have been decimated by the STEM education agenda [which deprioritised the arts]. Labour’s commitment to creative industries as a driver for growth has to be a key commitment we hold them to. We need to ensure they appreciate that fashion is worth more than half [the creative industries’] total value, and is respected in all the policy commitments going forward.
(Fashion Roundtable’s ‘Sector Vision’ provides further insight into the think tank’s demands for government, including greater support for on-shoring, restriction-free travel and work for UK and European talent, and better protections for garment workers.)
Chinazo Ufodiama, fashion PR and co-host of ‘Unpretty’ podcast
I’m not super hopeful about any real changes. I think the return to VAT-free shopping is the one potential shift I have to hope for, because it makes absolute economic and business sense, and this new Labour Party is aligned with those priorities. In terms of environmental legislation, I think it is going to be a very hard sell to convince the leadership to prioritise this. The Labour Party already backed Shein’s UK IPO plans pre-election, so it’s clear where their priorities lie. My biggest takeaway from all the pre-election fashion chat is that the industry desperately needs a stronger coalition of representation, led by people with both a real understanding of the industry’s needs and actual influence. It really doesn’t seem like we have that at all.
Alice Carvill, founder of London-based fashion and accessories label Arcs
I’m hopeful that Labour will bring back tax-free shopping, the economy levels out and interest rates go down. It’s really affected the sales at the stores I sell at in the UK; their sales have dropped so much, which then impacts the brands selling to them. I’m hoping Labour will support import tax for small businesses too, and give some sort of threshold for less percent taxation up to a certain level. I’m also hoping Labour will reinstate some of the grants for small businesses. The UK Fashion and Textile Association used to give grants to small businesses, but the Conservatives got rid of them.
Daniel Gayle, designer and founder of British brand Denzilpatrick
At Denzilpatrick, we use the language of British sartorialism to speak to others, at home but increasingly overseas. This relies on positive connections with the EU and a constant exchange of materials, goods and services. Following Brexit, these ties have been under threat. We are encouraged by Labour’s pledge to “reset the relationship” with Europe, reducing barriers to trade but also restoring the global belief in the UK as a cultural hub. Domestically, we also feel positive about the manifesto to create a “clean energy superpower”, meaning all UK businesses naturally move towards more sustainable practices and helping emerging brands, like Denzilpatrick, set a clear example to others.
Finally, Labour’s acknowledgement of the “huge potential in creative industries”, restores our faith that a career in this field is a long-term goal for many, not just for a select few. We feel it’s vital that British culture, including all walks of life, can be represented on the world stage.
Sophie Jewes, founder and creative director of PR and brand-building agency Raven
My work is mostly with small businesses, independent designers and freelance creatives — and so I know that 14 years under Conservative misrule has felt like a life sentence to a lot of people. There’s an obscene amount of work for this government to do, but if we bask temporarily in the post-result glow, it feels pretty good to contemplate a return to the halcyon days of London’s hyper-creativity. We know that’s who we are, and it’s an idea, or a truth, that’s been pretty cruelly stunted for a decade and a half. The creative people I work with are exhausted; there are some seismic wounds to heal. Labour’s pledges around freelancers’ rights have been some of the most comforting in their campaign.
There are some lyrical — if very hazy — references to supporting the high street in the Labour manifesto, but it’s not clear what the business rates “replacement system” actually looks like. The restoration of tax-free shopping feels like the most obvious example of a legislative no-brainer I can think of. Hopefully Starmer recognises an open goal.
Labour’s relative silence on sustainability legislation [in fashion] is particularly deafening. Borderline terrifying. It’ll be interesting to see where fashion sits in the grand plan to make the UK a “clean energy superpower” — being bold and holding fast fashion to account feels like an easy win; the Green Party’s “make polluters pay” stance was a bit more like it.
Adam Mansell, CEO of UK Fashion and Textile Association (UKFT)
There are two actions the government should take right now that would give the industry a massive boost: restoring export support for companies and reinstating a UK VAT-refund scheme. Longer term, the industry needs the government to support it in its move to a more circular system by introducing an EPR scheme for fashion and textiles and to help build a national textile recycling infrastructure. To support the acquisition of new talent, we need Labour to make good on its manifesto promise to reform apprenticeship funding and more broadly to revolutionise the education system. And we want the government to provide a much-needed boost for UK manufacturers by changing public procurement rules so that public bodies such as the military, emergency services and the NHS have to spend some of their budgets buying products made in the UK. Supporting this amazing, creative industry will create new jobs, drive sales, grow GDP and ultimately stimulate greater tax revenues for the Exchequer.
Nic Mastenbroek, creative director of British perfumery Ruth Mastenbroek Fragrances
As one of the only independent and family-run perfumery brands from the UK, we believe in breaking down barriers to working in the perfume industry and are looking forward to a Labour government that has pledged to make it possible for young people from all backgrounds to have the opportunities they deserve, regardless of the area they were born in.
Lauren Bowker, founder and creative director of material innovation research firm The Unseen
I hope this new government remembers to offer service not just to the people of the UK, but to the planet by investing in UK-based small businesses and supporting global collaborations for sustainable innovations and solutions. We need to invest in our education and provide opportunities for growth to get Britain back to being a leader in innovation.
Dija Ayodele, founder of Black Skin Directory (BSD)
Our data shows that the majority of the BSD community falls within the average earner salary bracket of just over £35,000, and we also know that 50 per cent of our audience really felt the impact of the economic crisis, so given the current climate, this is a cohort of people vulnerable to financial swings. Labour has pledged no new tax increases in national insurance or income tax rates (even though money is tight in government coffers), so this should hopefully bring stability and perhaps increase the spending power and disposable income of our community — especially if fiscal drag is also prevented. Labour has also pledged that there will be no more than one major fiscal event a year, which provides a degree of stability for both consumers and businesses.
Ciara Barry, policy and campaigns manager at Fashion Revolution
Now is a unique moment — and opportunity — for the incoming government to lead in transforming the UK fashion industry and the global impact of UK fashion brands for the better. We echo calls for a Fashion watchdog and for the Environmental Audit Committee recommendations to be central to this transition towards an industry that upholds environmental justice and champions garment worker rights. We urge the Labour government — do not miss this chance.
Harriet Vocking, CEO of Eco-Age
I don’t think anyone is surprised by the results at all. We needed change after the mess of the blue years. I hope that, through supporting the creative industries, we will protect the future of the industry. Sustainability is the key area that I would really like them to focus on — let’s see if they will make this a real priority. I would like to see a focus on supporting UK manufacturing. We have some of the best in the world and we should be proud and support this sector. Also, for me, the UK has done nothing to try and regulate against the huge issues of overproduction and overconsumption of fashion, and the greenwashing that consumers are bombarded with on a daily basis. Labour has a chance to really mandate change here with regulation, holding brands to account. It’s time to tax fast fashion!
Phway Su Aye, CEO and creative director of fragrance brand Gabar
With the world in its current turbulent state, and the UK having faced its own social and economic turmoils over the last years [in a dramatic post-Covid and post-Brexit landscape], a landslide Labour win is for sure hopeful and something that we at Gabar feel is a signal for positive change to come — albeit likely slowly. In that sense, we’re still watching cautiously. Inflation and interest rates are still rampant. In the consumer sector, we’ve been feeling the slowdowns deeply over the last years, from both individual customers and retailers, and it’s pushed startups like us to seek expansion outside of the UK, which I think ultimately is a shame. It’s going to take a lot of work — and time — to get the economy moving and individuals optimistic again about growth and spending. In the face of a very polarised world, though, Labour is a very real welcome change and hopefully a period of stability, which is a breath of fresh air.
Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium
Labour’s manifesto made some crucial commitments for retail — from reforming business rates, planning and the apprenticeship levy, to introducing a specific offence for assaulting a retail worker — and we now await the details of how these will be taken forward. Labour recognised that the business rates system is broken. With retail paying 22 per cent of the total rates bill while accounting for 5 per cent of the economy, it is the number one thing in the way of increased retail investment that could unlock growth across the economy. So we look forward to further engagement on the details, as the work starts here in turning commitments into delivery.
Fiona Glen, director of projects at beauty business consultancy The Red Tree
I would love to see the new government assess tax-free shopping. We know beauty has suffered from the changes put in here as the UK has lost footfall to places such as Paris. Secondly, investment in innovation. [Government-funded body] Innovate UK does fantastic work, however there is much more we can do to support access to funding and commercialisation support when considering the beauty industry.
Sustainability is of huge importance to our industry. Many brands are desperately trying to do the best they can, however real action requires a top-down approach. Finally, support for exporting is imperative. The complexities of exporting post-Brexit have hit every single beauty brand in the UK. An evaluation of the process, better provision of information and additional support on backing the right beauty brands on their export mission is needed.
Hilary Marsh, garment policy advisor at non-profit organisation Transform Trade
Labour have said they want the economy to work for the 99 per cent, and fashion workers in the UK and overseas must be included in the promise of something better. A fashion watchdog would signal clearly that the government is serious about change for the better. We would like the new government to reconsider the recommendations of the Environmental Audit Committee, that the previous government roundly rejected.
The Labour manifesto focused on support for small businesses, specifically aiming to take action on late payments. Late payments are just one in the bundle of unfair purchasing practices that brands use when engaging with manufacturers — ultimately impacting employment practices further down the supply chain, including the ability to pay minimum, let alone living, wages. A fashion watchdog would address these practices and ensure a level playing field for the industry.
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