On Pubs, Businesses and Networking -

Written by Merlene Emerson on Sat 6th Feb 2010

Merlene shares her experience at a power breakfast and reflects on how small businesses can withstand the economic downturn

Last Wednesday, I was at Stone Masons Arms, a pub in Hammersmith, at the unearthly hour of 7a.m., not to imbibe alcohol I might add, but rather to join a group of dynamic and entrepreneurial small business owners at a networking breakfast.

I was pleased to witness how armed with a really positive 'can do' attitude local business people and professionals have found a way of increasing their custom through mutual referrals.

When it came to my turn to introduce myself and my 'business', it was a simple message: should residents have any issues or concerns, whether local or national, they can feel free to raise them with me as their Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate. I would be more than happy to campaign on their behalf and to lobby for changes.

Indeed, I and the local Hammersmith & Fulham Liberal Democrats have been conducting surveys of local shops and businesses to find out how they might have been affected by the recession. By and large, responses were that turnover has gone down, reduction in V.A.T has had minimal impact and that profits had been squeezed by high business rates and rising utility bills.

Other gripes included in the case of certain streets the obscene use of CCTV cameras to catch out unwary drivers, insufficient on-street parking, lack of investment in the streetscape, and un-gritted pavements during the cold spell.

As for pubs, I believe these have been affected by year on year increase in excise duties on alcohol, restrictions on smoking and further red tape on small businesses. Whilst I agree that the smoking ban and disincentives for alcohol consumption are necessary for health reasons I am equally concerned to hear of small businesses folding.

I am in favour of promoting a policy environment that encourages consumers to choose low alcohol drinks and recognise the traditional role of pubs as the place for responsible, social drinking. We need as a society a more balanced strategy for tackling alcohol abuse and need to work in partnership with the brewing and pub sector.

Aside from pubs, I would fight for reduced red tape overall for small shops and businesses, ensure that the Council employs local retail champions to look after the interests and concerns of local shop owners and contribute towards joint marketing efforts. Improvements in the streetscape, clear signages and better public transport and parking for shoppers could all go a long way towards helping businesses thrive.

For anyone interested in finding out more about the local chapter of the BNI network, here is a link for more information: http://www.bniwestside.co.uk/members.html