What's the Courage Economy?

Freelancers, sole traders, contractors, side hustlers – anyone who makes the bold choice to strike out on their own and become their own boss. It’s a choice that embodies flexibility and autonomy in work, as well as the courage to trade the stability of employment for the opportunity to build your own business.

Together, the millions of people who work for themselves add £330 billion to the UK economy. They help businesses to recruit flexible talent, deliver major projects and achieve results that couldn’t be reached without them.

Despite this, we believe the self-employed are underrated in Westminster. Policymaking too often fails to keep the self-employed front of mind, meaning they miss out on the benefits of change solely because they work for themselves, rather than someone else.

The party that fully embraces the self-employed at this election stands to win the support of up to 4.3 million people. With this manifesto, we’re calling on our political parties – and the next government – to make the self-employed a policymaking priority, unlocking the full potential of this dynamic part of our economy.

Derek Cribb, IPSE CEO

"Our vision is for a fair environment where self-employment is an aspirational and sustainable career choice; a choice which is respected, protected, supported and celebrated by government. With this manifesto, our goal is to highlight how the next government could live up to this vision."