Debbie Abrahams MP’s Message of Support for SME4Labour’s 3rd Anniversary Gala
“SME4Labour has made a major contribution to developing and campaigning so successfully for Labour’s policies. Our small business sector is the power-house of the economy, contributing nearly half of the UK’s income in the private sector. Small businesses are critical to boosting productivity levels so for sustainable growth, we need to support our entrepreneurs and small businesses.
“Late payments by large companies to their suppliers has a direct impact on SME’s productivity and sometimes on their viability. That’s why I have worked closely with SMEs in my campaign Be Fair – Pay on Time to tackle the scourge of late payments. Our manifesto last year “declared war on late payments” and promised to both use government procurement to ensure that anyone bidding for a government contract pays its own suppliers within 30 days and develop a version of the Australian system of binding arbitration and fines for persistent late-payers for the private and public sectors. I am also keen to see ‘Project Bank Accounts’ established for public sector contracts which will protect small businesses should the prime contractor go bust.”