This week, I visited Daisy’s Floral Designs, opened in September by local resident Kerry Morgan to support Small Business Saturday on 4 December.

Daisy’s is a florist with a great range of flowers and floral arrangements. For the Christmas season there are wreaths and table centrepieces, all unique and which look great (I bought a fantastic wreath for my office door). It was good to hear how well these have gone down with customers and already the shop has become a fixture on Woodend Ave.

Local businesses are the cornerstones of our local communities, but they are also vital to our economy. Across the UK small to medium enterprises (SMEs) account for 99.9% of the business population (5.6 million businesses), three fifths of the employment and around half of turnover in the UK private sector. Total employment in SMEs in 2020 was 16.3 million (61% of the total), whilst turnover was estimated at £2.3 trillion (52%). They provide employment opportunities locally that many residents rely on.

The Covid pandemic hit many of our local businesses hard, which is why I’m so pleased that people like Kerry, who has always wanted to own her own shop after years of working in florists, are still starting-up new businesses on our high streets. They can be a lifeline for residents in the community without transport.

In the first term of the next Labour Government we will scrap business rates entirely, replacing them with a new Business Property Rate that will reduce the burden on our high street businesses. We will create 100,000 new businesses over five years and boost the start-up loans scheme, because we know how valuable small businesses are.

I wish Kerry many years of success, and I would encourage anyone looking for bespoke, quality floral gifts this year to visit Kerry on Woodend Ave.