Britain badly needs a shot in the arm. Despite inflation coming down recently, costs for businesses are still sky-high. High streets in towns around the country are continuing to struggle, with one in seven stores now empty.
And for those that trade internationally the picture remains deeply uncertain as the war in Ukraine, tensions with China and destabilised relationship with the EU rock the boat.
So where are we going to find the juice to get going again? What is going to get us back on our feet? And who is going to do the hard yards of renewing the country?
The answer is, as always, Britain’s entrepreneurs. Whether it’s bakers, biotech start-ups, beauty technicians or anything in between, these are the small business owners who – given the right conditions – are ready to take a risk and pour all their energies into making things happen.
I work with people like this every day. People like Dock and Bay who sell their superfast drying towels across the world or Fussy shaking up the world of deodorant!! Their energy, their savvy and their commitment are why I get out of bed in the morning. They are the people that can pull Britain out of the doldrums.
But the truth is that small business owners have had a rough time of it in recent years. Just as individual households have struggled to cope with rising costs, so have small businesses. Energy, construction, professional services – all are essential for small businesses’ health, and all cost vastly more than they did a few years ago.
Then add on to that the increasing costs of business insurance, high street rents and supply chains and you have nothing short of a cost-of-business crisis. Some of this may have been unavoidable. But why are business rates still disadvantaging small bricks-and-mortar businesses compared to their larger online rivals? And why has the scourge of late payments, consistently the number one problem for small business owners year after year, still not been addressed?
Dock and Bay and Fussy, just like the rest of Britain’s army of entrepreneurs, are not easily cowed. They will keep trying, keep looking to create jobs, to serve their customers and build the country’s prosperity. But they could really do with a government that works with them. That’s why we need change.
I have been impressed by Labour’s plans, under the leadership of Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves to give small businesses the support they need to turbocharge Britain’s renewal. Plans that include replacing business rates with a new system of business property taxation, to level the playing field between our high streets and online giants. It means introducing tough new laws to stamp out late payments by large businesses to small and independent retailers.
And there are some pretty big ideas too like creating Great British Energy which will lower energy bills for businesses as well as households, making it less expensive to produce and sell goods in our factories and on our high streets.
These are the promises of a government-in-waiting that takes seriously its responsibilities towards small businesses. They understand that the renewal this country needs cannot be achieved by government alone, and plan on partnering with Britain’s entrepreneurs to make it happen together.
Small businesses are the life blood of the economy and at this general election we have a real chance to reset the landscape to help them thrive and become the force for economic recovery we know they can be. So, whichever way you choose to vote take a good look at which party is tackling the issues you really care about and vote to be part of the change we need to see.