The vast majority of businesses in this country are small businesses, employing 16.7 million people and boosting our economy by £2.4 trillion.

Labour knows the value of small business. It’s not just about the jobs they create or the economic growth they generate – it is small business that brings much needed richness to our economy. The local café for your morning coffee on the way to the station. The mortgage broker who went above and beyond to help you get your first house. The plumber who came out-of-hours to save the day.

Local businesses breathe life into our high streets, deliver services that make our lives easier, provide the goods we need to thrive. It is no exaggeration to say that without small businesses our country would not just be poorer, but the communities we live in would be as well.

Often small businesses feel neglected by government, not given the respect their sheer economic weight deserves. Labour won’t let that happen. A future Labour government will hardwire the voice of small business into everything we do and provide a business environment that helps and does not hinder small businesses.

If you have a small business, work with us as we try to build a firm foundation for small businesses to succeed. Your voice and experience is important to get policy right.  Essential ingredients will be a strong economy, policy certainty, investment in people and places, as well as action on the things holding firms back.

Under Labour, small business will get the respect it deserves, with action on late payments to make sure you get paid on time, as well as a reform of business rates to make an antiquated system more responsive to your needs.

Here are the key points of our plan:

1. Legislate to tackle late payments: Unlocking £20 billion in unpaid invoices
2. Scrap business rates: And replace it with a system that is fairer for bricks and mortar businesses
3. Revitalise our high streets: Tackling anti-social behaviour and powers to take over empty shops
4. Boosting small business exports: Removing the barriers to export with clear information and support
5. A new direction for skills: With Technical Excellence Colleges connected to local economic needs
6. Get Britain building again: By speeding up the planning system and unblocking the grid
7. Make Britain a clean energy super power: For cheaper bills and greater energy security
8. The best place to start up and scale up: With better access to finance and more spinouts from universities
9. A fair chance at public contracts: With guaranteed shortlisting for smaller firms

Let us know your thoughts (info@guildfordlabour.org) and we will feed these in to the Shadow Business Secretary, Jonathan Reynolds.