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Labour sets out stall to support small business in Milton Keynes this ‘Small Business Saturday’

Labour MP Anneliese Dodds has said that Labour is on the side of small businesses and supporting our high streets, while setting out Labour’s policies during the tenth anniversary of Small Business Saturday talking with Ryan, owner of Crawford Hair in Stony Stratford (pictured).

According to the Federation of Small Businesses, SMEs make up 99% of the business population in the UK and create 16 million jobs. Now in its tenth year, Small Business Saturday celebrates this success and encourages consumers to shop local and to support businesses in their communities.

Labour’s Shadow Women’s Minister highlighted the difficulties faced by small businesses with business rates, a crashed economy, soaring energy costs and supply chain issues, and how local employers as are crucial to the local community and high streets across the different towns making up the city Milton Keynes.


Labour will make online giants pay their fair share and introduce annual revaluations of business rates, with savings passed on immediately to small businesses. This would support small businesses rebuilding from the crashed economy, and level the playing field between online giants and bricks and mortar businesses.


Support for the self-employed was also highlighted by Anneliese Dodds as a crucial part of Labour’s pro-worker, pro-business agenda. Labour will extend the protections for self-employed workers including the right to sick pay.


Emily Darlington, Labour's Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Milton Keynes South, said:


“I am delighted to support this tenth anniversary year of Small Business Saturday. Small businesses on Stony Stratford high street and on Queensway in Bletchley and in Wolverton and Newport Pagnell, do so much to enrich our lives, providing jobs, training and a shopping experience that is different to the city centre.

“In every estate, we’ve seen the independent shops and small businesses in our local centres facing massive adversity and hardship over the last few years, and now they face further challenges like unfair business rates, supply chain issues and soaring energy costs.

Chris Curtis, Labour’s Newly Selected Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Milton Keynes North, said”

“From speaking today with local business owners, we’ve clearly seen the need for our independent businesses to be supported in all the great work they do for our local community.


“It’s vital that we never become a city of chain restaurants. We want local independent restaurants offering a diversity of great food at affordable prices, and run by local families. We all value the warm welcome we get from those passionate local small business owners and at times like these, they need a government on their side.”

Anneliese Dodds MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities, said:

“Small businesses are the heart of our economy, playing a vital role in supporting local services and the community- I saw that so clearly in Stony Stratford today.


“But twelve years of Conservative economic failure has left too many firms struggling with unfair business rates, supply chain issues and soaring energy costs.


“Labour has a plan to revitalise small businesses by scrapping business rates and replacing them with a fairer system of annual revaluations, where savings are passed onto small businesses immediately. We’ll also tackle the late payments crisis, support the self-employed through our New Deal for Working People and build a new partnership with business across the country.


“On Small Business Saturday, only Labour has a proper plan for growth and prosperity and a fairer, greener future for Britain.”

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