SME Businesses Signal Concern Over Hung Parliament

MANCHESTER, England, May 5, 2010 - A new survey has revealed more than a third of SME business decision
makers questioned believe a hung Parliament would be the worst outcome for
the economy (36%) and reduce or delay investment (33%).

A poll and online sentiment analysis were commissioned by internet and
online marketing company, Amaze, looking at attitudes around a hung
Parliament within the SME business community and general opinion online.

The poll, conducted by YouGov, also revealed half of the SMEs questioned
believed an outright Conservative Party victory was best for the economy as a
whole (58%), would encourage investment in their businesses (50%) and create
more jobs (48%).

On the other hand the survey data saw a Labour victory cited as the most
likely to lead to job cuts in their company (27%), although 35% said the
outcome would not make a difference.

Godfrey Taylor of Amaze said: "We set out to investigate the attitudes of
SMEs to the possibility of a hung Parliament from a business viewpoint, but
found strong support for the Conservatives.

"In addition to this we also carried out detailed online analysis of
attitudes towards a hung Parliament. The results revealed a lot of online
activity around the effect on interest rates and the perceived weakness of a
hung Parliament.

"Thanks to the growth of social media, parties can now listen to the
electorate voicing their opinions online and allowing them to gain a true
understanding of the views of the public."

In contrast to the poll, the online study was not so black and white. The
study saw more than 12,000 mentions analysed across news sites, blogs,
comments on those sites, forums and Twitter between the period of 13 - 29
April.

The online analysis revealed mixed results but indicated the effect on
interest rates has been the single largest topic of debate around the
discussion of a hung Parliament.

While overall sentiment around the topic of hung parliament had remained
positive, even rising in recent days, many commentators expressed concern
around the prospect of an interest rate hike as a result of a loss of market
confidence in British economic leadership.

Some comments suggested confusion over the nature of a hung Parliament
and how parties would negotiate a coalition government. There were also
parallels drawn between the UK and the current Greek economic crisis.

Representatives from businesses voiced their primary concern on selected
websites around weak government and indecision. It was noted that the
prospect of the hung Parliament could have some short term impact and posed
risks to stability.

The wider topic of market confidence was also explored in blog posts with
a general agreement that the greatest threat to growth was uncertainty or
perceived weakness in the government.

Conversations in relation to job losses indicate a broad agreement
accepting that post election, job losses are inevitable, the only question
remaining the extent of such cuts with some opinions suggesting that a
coalition government would entail greater job losses.

Throughout the period of analysis, 'interest rates' were a consistent
topic of conversation while "deficit reduction" and "government borrowing"
peaked on the day of the final leadership debate.

    For further information/interviews:

    Dan McMullan
    d.mcmullan@amaze.com
    Direct Line: +44(0)161-838-8704

For further information/interviews: Dan McMullan, d.mcmullan at amaze.com , Direct Line: +44(0)161-838-8704.