Following Small Business Saturday (4 December) Northumberland Labour has set out its commitment to supporting small businesses in the county. 

Leader Scott Dickinson said: “We are blessed with some amazing small businesses here in the county providing everything from services and hospitality to home grown and made food and drink. Even before the pandemic, it was clear that encouraging and supporting our small businesses was essential for a vibrant and economically successful county but the past 18 months have been a challenge, to say the least. 

“With changing shopping habits and the changing look of our high streets, Labour is committed to supporting small businesses in practical ways. For example Labour would cut business rates and reform business property tax. Labour wants to create and sustainable framework which allows small businesses to flourish.”

Labour pledges to:

• freeze business rates this year, saving the average small shop or factory £4,000   
• scrap and replace business rates, ensuring online giants and bricks and mortar shops are on a level playing field  
• help create 100,000 new businesses over five years and boost the start-up loans scheme
• champion a policy of Buy, Make and Sell more in Britain to boost growth 

Labour’s four guiding principles to support small business are to:

• incentivise business investment, especially in those areas that contribute towards decarbonising the economy
• reduce uncertainty for business, through more frequent revaluations and through instant reductions in bills when property values fall
• reward rather than punish entrepreneurship, with incentives for businesses that move into empty premises
• reward the local government for the great work they do to promote economic growth, while guaranteeing funding for local public services