Makeitcheaper.com’s MD Jonathan Elliott debating on the UK Spending Review Live for Reuters alongside some of our very own Business Owners Panel members.

Of 1,000 business owners polled, one in seven (14 per cent) are not planning any holidays this summer, while 38 per cent plan to stay close to home. Of those planning a holiday, 29 per cent will cut it shorter.

Business owners risk a summer burnout by not taking a proper break, claims research released today.

Of the 1000 business owners surveyed, 14% aren’t planning any holidays at all this summer, with a further 38% staying close to home. For those planning a holiday, it isn’t all good news, with 29% of people taking less time off in 2010 than in previous years.

Whilst many prepare to check-in for a well-deserved holiday, price comparison website Make It Cheaper have revealed that UK business owners are swapping sand for “staycations”. But is opting out of a summer vacation in favour of keeping an eye on your business a smart move?

High Street stores have been criticised for cranking up their air conditioning but leaving their doors open.
Some outlets are 15f colder than outside, using up huge amounts of energy. The stores have also been criticised for doing the same in winter, when heat pours out instead and is lost to the sky.

The study was carried out by the price comparison service, MakeitCheaper.com. Managing director Jonathan Elliott said: ‘There are simple things that staff can do such as setting the thermostat higher, turning off lights and tweaking the automatic doors to close more frequently.’

The findings perhaps help to explain why the new Parliament has only 142 women among its 650 MPs – including the Home Secretary, Theresa May – a rise of only 2.5 per cent on the previous one. Moreover, women account for fewer than 20 per cent of the ministerial posts in the coalition Government – well below the figures for Spain and Sweden, where they fill at least half of cabinet jobs, and Germany, France and the United States, where the figure is about a third, according to the Centre for Women and Democracy.

This is the conclusion of a new survey by business price comparison service Make It Cheaper, which revealed that two-thirds of small businesses are not planning to allow staff to watch matches while they are at work.

Some interesting new research has been done into the shortage of female MPs in the UK Parliament.

A survey of women business leaders showed just one per cent would consider standing as an MP, compared to 10 per cent of blokes.

Additionally, 45 per cent of women claimed they had no interest in politics, while just 14 per cent of men thought the same.

The debate about female representation often centres around women only shortlists, the old boys’ network in parliament and the failure to promote women politicians to the top jobs.

However, today’s news raises a perhaps more worrying question – is the lack of women in parliament mainly because they simply don’t want to enter politics in the first place?