FSB urges local authorities to protect their communities

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has launched a Small Business Manifesto to press local authorities to champion small businesses ahead of local elections in England on May 1.

The UK’s biggest business organisation will focus its local election lobbying on the campaign to Keep Trade Local, which seeks to protect small businesses from unfair planning laws, draconian parking restrictions in town centres and the breakdown of local economies.

The Small Business Manifesto also has detailed proposals for local government on small business issues including:

Finance;
Procurement;
Regulation;
Transport;
Crime; and
Planning.

Roger Culcheth, FSB Local Government Chairman, said:

“Small businesses are the backbone of local communities and it is about time local councils recognised this in their policies.

“Planning decisions that benefit supermarkets and out-of-town retail parks, draconian town centre parking restrictions and the closure of thousands of post offices are contributing to the death of over 2,000 small shops every year.

“We believe local government in England could be doing much more to safeguard the future of small businesses. The local elections on May 1 offer a perfect opportunity for prospective councillors to demonstrate they are serious about the future of their local communities.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

1. For copies of the Small Business Manifesto, please email press@fsb.org.uk.

2. The FSB has opened a petition on the Number 10 website to Keep Trade Local: http://petitions.pm.gov/keeptradelocal/.

3. The FSB is Britain’s biggest business organisation with over 210,000 members. It exists to protect and promote the interests of the self-employed and all those who run their own business. More information is available at www.fsb.org.uk.

Contacts:

For interviews with FSB Chief Spokesman Stephen Alambritis or other senior FSB personnel please contact the FSB Press Office.

FSB Press Office
Andrew Cave: 020 7592 8113 / 07917 628991
Simon Briault: 020 7592 8128 / 07917 628998

For regional FSB contacts please go to www.fsb.org.uk/regions