We have had Black Friday, Cyber Monday and even giving Tuesday and now this weekend we have Small Business Saturday. Unlike Cyber Monday and Black Friday it is not just about shopping but is about the value that small business plays in our community and getting people to recognise and celebrate their local small businesses.
Small businesses are the lifeblood of both our community and our economy especially if you extend the definition of small business to include the self-employed. It is predicted that by 2016 there will be more people working for themselves than in the entire public sector. The Labour party needs to be the party of small business and the self-employed to empower them to build prosperity. Unlike the Tories we realise that a strong economy is built on top of strong public services and a modern welfare system and the goal of next Labour government will be to ensure that those services are focused and deliver for small firms and those that work in them.
After all it is our local small businesses – unlike the lawyer-rich multinationals – that pay their taxes out of which our public services are built. Also a few choice and high-profile charities in the capital may be sponsored by sharp-suited accountancy firms, multinational coffee chains or other tax-free internet firms. But look deep into our communities at local kids’ football and rugby clubs, at our community groups, at our school fayres and you will see that it is our local builders, electricians, car dealers, or even the local accountancy firms or others that are doing the sponsorship. But, it is not so that they look good, but because they want to put back in. Yes, it is true it could be that their son is in the team, or their daughter is in the Guides, but that is the point, isn’t it? They are part of the community; this is not just about charity, their contribution is not all for tax purposes but is about participation and improving their community.
One of the foundation stones for new garden cities is not the creation of one big factory that employs everyone, but an infrastructure to support small businesses that will allow to thrive and cooperate. Tech City is a good example of this. A successful garden city will be one that captures it values and prosperity, perhaps through a land value tax or similar, but also by trying to keep the wealth generated in city there. For example, there is the Bristol Pound, a local currency that does just that. While we do not all have access to local currencies or yet live in garden cities we can recognise those principles still. Because by spending money locally and with local small business you are more likely to keep that money in your community and are likely to benefit from the positive effects of it as it cycles around.
It is not just a task for us as consumers to undertake, it is an objective for our local councils to procure the services of local firms as a priority. Just as when our local hospital offshores the maintenance of patient records or the county council does similar with its IT services, it is not really saving that much money in the long term but it is destroying a potential social dividend. We should ask why they have no1t used our hard-earned taxes to employ local people and recycle that money round our community.
So, let’s celebrate Small Business Saturday, by not just recognising the contribution that small firms make to our communities but by realising that they are often the glue that holds them together.
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Philip Ross is a member of the Labour Finance and Industry Group and a co-author of The Freelancing Agenda
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