'Medway Liberal Democrats are supporting Small Business Saturday on 2nd December'

Small Business Saturday is coming up on December 2nd. This is an annual event that encourages people to shop local and support the small, independent businesses that make up our high street.

Small Business Saturday has been running in the UK for over 10 years now and has become a major event. During Small Business Saturday 2022 over £1.1 billion was spent in small, local shops! Local businesses have faced enormous challenges over the past few years, first with Brexit, then Covid and now with the economic turmoil that we currently face.

Christmas is the busiest shopping period of the year and it’s important to try to support small, independent, local businesses at this time especially – but also all year round as well.

Some local shops even offer discounts and offers on Small Business Saturday and you can find out which shops are participating in Medway here at https://smallbusinesssaturdayuk.com/about-us. The Lib Dems will be making a very special effort to shop locally this year and we hope you can do the same.

Liberal Democrats want urgent action to support businesses that otherwise would struggle to survive. This is an opportunity to promote independent businesses in our towns and encourage residents to shop local and shop small during the busiest shopping period of the year in the run up to Christmas. Now is the time to be speaking to small businesses in our area about these challenges – learning from their experiences and seeing how we can support them.

Alan Wells, spokesperson for Medway Liberal Democrats said, "We are calling on Medway Council to promote Small Business Saturday and continue to support small businesses throughout the year, by developing a year-round communications plan to promote local small businesses and encouraging residents in Medway to shop small and shop local all year-round.

Already, we have seen a number of businesses around Medway having closed for good. We are calling on the Council to support fledgling businesses, to be proactive in using all its resources and to ensure our high streets can thrive. A long-term response and what role we want our town centres and high streets to play is crucial. We don't just need more shops, there should be a mix of residential, artistic, creative, educational and public space put back into our town centres.

This is the right and fair thing to do in order to support our hundreds of local businesses in Medway – and the thousands of local jobs that rely on them."

ENDS
NOTES FOR EDITORS:

https://smallbusinesssaturdayuk.com/about-us

Small Business Saturday UK is a grassroots, non-commercial campaign, which highlights small business success and encourages consumers to 'shop local' and support small businesses in their communities. The day itself takes place on the first Saturday in December each year, but the campaign aims to have a lasting impact on small businesses.

On Small Business Saturday, customers across the U.K. go out and support all types of small businesses, online, in offices and in stores. Many small businesses take part in the day by hosting events and offering discounts.