Nick Clegg Says “Choose Small, Choose Local”

The Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has thrown his weight behind Small Business Saturday this coming weekend.

The event aims to celebrate the nation's most innovative organisations and encourage people to shop in their local stores or use nearby services as opposed to relying on big brands all the time.

Last year, leading business organisations including the Association of City and Town Management, Association of Convenience Stores, Ingenious Britain and the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) all added their support to the initiative.

Nick Clegg said: “Forget Black Friday and Cyber Monday. This Small Business Saturday, we get to celebrate and show our support for Britain’s 5.2 million small and medium-sized businesses. Make sure you get involved.

“Whether it’s a local manufacturer, builder, florist, jeweller or bookshop, all of these companies keep our local communities going: creating jobs, driving growth and ensuring our high streets survive and succeed.

“Together, they are working to seal the deal on Britain’s recovery. In government, we are giving them all the help we can, with greater business support, access to finance and competitive taxes to help them thrive, and we now have hundreds of thousands more small and medium enterprises operating in the UK than in 2010.

“Your custom matters to them more than ever. Last year, Small Business Saturday generated around £468 million. Together, we can top that. There are special events taking part all over the country – backed by cross party support and organisations like the Federation of Small Businesses, Young Enterprise, The Prince’s Trust and others.

“So, good luck to all of the UK businesses throwing open their doors on Small Business Saturday and every success for the future.

“On Saturday 6 December when you are shopping for Christmas or something you need - choose small, choose local.”

Expert Opinion

It is encouraging to see the Government getting behind Small Business Saturday and we at Irwin Mitchell echo the call for people to go out this weekend and support small firms.

“It is vital however that support for smaller firms isn’t restricted to just one day and it’s also important that small firms are not just characterised as just high street retailers.

“Small firms are incredibly diverse and operate across a wide range of sectors including manufacturing, leisure and IT. They are the big firms of the future and their value must be recognised as support in this area is essential as we look to rebalance the UK economy.

“Improvements to SMEs access to finance were announced at this week’s Autumn Statement, but small businesses also need further support in other areas. We would like to see more practical advice for helping SMEs trade overseas and also a commitment to ensure firms in the north are able to engage within the plan to build a Northern Powerhouse.”
Fergal Dowling - Partner & Director of Legal Services (Commercial Advisory ＆ Disputes)