Micro, Small and Medium businesses are the backbone of local communities, employing nearly 17 million people across the UK. In 2020, there were 6 million SME’s, accounting for over 99% of businesses and it’s so important for the Labour and Co-operative movements to be right there, supporting small business owners and their employees. This growing relationship, along with the support of the trade unions, will be vital in securing the future of local economies up and down the country as we start to recover from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. I am grateful to SME4Labour who have been working hard to understand and overcome the challenges being faced by small business owners in Preston and the North West region and I wholeheartedly support the efforts they are making to get SMEs back up and running fully. Whilst there have been schemes and loans in place to help from the Government, unfortunately some SMEs have fallen through the cracks and been ineligible to receive funding and I’m hopeful that by working with SME4Labour, we will have a strong collective voice to fight for small and medium businesses to ensure that they survive and thrive post pandemic.
Sir Mark Hendrick MP
Member of Parliament for Preston