IPSE (the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed) has launched #5millionvotes, a manifesto for the 2019 General Election. The manifesto claims to highlight the size and influence of the self-employed sector in the election, as well as outlining the policies parties should adopt to secure the support of freelancers. The number of self-employed has grown enormously in the last ten years to almost 5 million. They are now 15 per cent of the workforce – almost as much as the entire public sector. Collectively, they contribute £305bn to the economy every year, which is enough to fund the NHS twice over. (more…)

Millions of older workers are joining and benefiting from the freelance sector, new research from IPSE (the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed) claims. IPSE’s research suggests there are now almost two million (1,907,000) self-employed people over the age of 50 in the UK: a number that has increased by 58.5 per cent in the last ten years. The growth is even bigger among highly skilled freelancers. Today, there are almost a million (950,000) highly skilled freelancers in the UK: a number that has risen by 68.2 per cent in the last ten years. (more…)

One-fifth of sole traders in self-employment don’t survive one year, and the majority don’t survive five, according to a new study from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS).  The analysis of HMRC tax records by researchers at the IFS was funded by the Office for National Statistics through the Economic Statistics Centre of Excellence (ESCoE) and the Economic and Social Research Council. (more…)