Election day has finally arrived in Britain but as the people head for the polling stations a new survey shows that just eight per cent of Independent Financial Advisors are backing Labour.
A YouGov poll carried out by Money Marketing shows that 51 per cent of advisors intend to vote Conservative and 19 per cent favour a Lib Dem victory, with Labour the least favoured party in the financial advice industry.
The survey, carried out in April, asked 283 advisers where their vote would sit. And when asked if a hung Parliament would damage the UK economy, 63 per cent agreed or agreed strongly that it would.
Baronworth director Colin Jackson says: “It is no surprise that Labour’s popularity among IFAs is so low. It has had a negative impact on pensions, it failed in its handling of the banking crisis and it has done nothing to help savers other than to raise the Isa limit.”
And in another blow to Labour, Investment Week has reported that 95 per cent of fund managers think a Tory victory would be the best outcome for investors and that a hung parliament would be the worst case scenario.
This election is tipped to be the most closely fought in a generation with many speculating that no party will emerge with an overall majority
Hung parliament
The final opinion polls suggest that there will be no clear winner after the votes have been counted and Britain may be facing a coalition government.
The concern is that a coalition will mean the next government drag their feet and delay addressing the national debt. The credit rating agencies may then downgrade the UK and government interest payments could rise.
But Caxton FX believe that a hung parliament will not have the negative impact many expect.
Duncan Higgins, senior analyst at Caxton FX said: “The problem lies in uncertainty. The market has little political bias and simply wants to see a single party gain power. Sterling could come under heavy selling pressure on Friday should no clear winner emerge as doubts will remain over the government's ability to finance the deficit. The arduous task of forming some semblance of a working government must then begin and the markets are unlikely to sit around and wait for it to happen.”
However he said that soaring gilt yields and a run on the pound are unlikely and the possibility of a hung parliament could even be beneficial for the economy.
“Regardless of their differing means and methods, all three parties do have the same goal - to reduce the deficit.”
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