Celebrating Stockport’s Small Businesses (Stockport Post - January 2024)

I hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable Christmas and New Year. It was great to begin December with a series of visits to independent businesses across the constituency, in celebration of Small Business Saturday. This is an annual event taking place on the first Saturday of December to promote small businesses and highlight the vital role that they play in our communities and in supporting the economy.

This is particularly evident here in Stockport. Our town is home to many brilliant independent businesses – in fact our town centre is renowned for this – and they make an enormous contribution to our community: breathing vibrancy and life into our high streets, providing important services and goods and bolstering the local economy. Stockport’s small businesses are an important part of the unique character of our town and help to make it such a great place to live.

I would like to thank the owners and staff members who met with me to discuss their experiences of running a small business in our community. It was wonderful to speak with Jean and Michaela, the mother and daughter duo who run a cake business – Lily’s Icing on the Cake – and a florist – Lily’s Florist – on Castle Street in Edgeley. I also spoke with the owners of Rare Mags, a brilliant independent book and magazine shop in the Underbanks, and Hillgate Cakery – yet another wonderful addition to Stockport’s thriving town centre.

As these owners explained to me, running a small business is often rewarding and demanding in equal measure. The pandemic created a particularly challenging climate and unfortunately led to the closure of thousands of local businesses up and down the country. Too often, small businesses feel neglected by the Government.

I am committed to ensuring that independent businesses in our community are given the support that they need to thrive. That’s why I am backing Labour’s recently launched plan for small businesses. This is a blueprint to create the long-term environment that businesses in Stockport and across the country are crying out for, including measures to tackle late payments, address training and skills shortages, boost exports, cut bills and provide small businesses with a fairer tax system and chance at obtaining public contracts. Labour’s plan to revitalise the high street also includes crucial measures to address antisocial behaviour and rising rates of retail crime.

As ever, if you live or work in Stockport constituency, please do not hesitate to contact me at navendu.mishra.mp@parliament.uk or 0161 480 0833.