LAST week was Small Business Saturday, which aims to encourage communities to shop locally and help small businesses thrive, especially during the busy holiday shopping season.

Small businesses play an essential role in the economic and social fabric of our communities.

These businesses, often run by individuals or families, are not just drivers of economic growth but also catalysts for supporting local services not least through the local business rates they pay.

I have always championed small businesses. In fact, my background is in entrepreneurship.

I started a small businesses from scratch, both here in the UK and in the United States, and along the way I was helped by economic reforms in the 1980s in particular that were aimed at fostering entrepreneurship, reducing taxation, and creating a more business-friendly environment.

Throughout my time as an MP, I have provided help or support to hundreds of local businesses, and as a treasury minister I was instrumental in reducing business rates for the majority of small high street traders by a third.

However, small businesses now face serious challenges as a result the policies in the Government’s recent budget.

Under Labour, employers’ National Insurance contributions will rise from 13.8 per cent to 15 per cent which will increase the cost of employing staff.

Labour’s £25 billion National Insurance Jobs Tax will hit small businesses hardest. It will result in lower wages and higher prices, with many small businesses having to let staff go or reduce their hiring.

The Office of Budget Responsibility (the independent official economic forecaster) has confirmed that Labour’s Jobs Tax will reduce wages by £7.5 billion in total, and the independent Institute for Fiscal studies (IFS) has warned that the lowest paid will be hit hardest.

Additionally, the broader tax burden will discourage investment and entrepreneurship more widely.

Owners of small businesses are more likely to reinvest profits into their local economies.

With the lower rate of Capital Gains Tax rising from 10 per cent to 18 per cent, and the higher rate from 20 per cent to 24 per cent, small business owners who sell assets may be discouraged from reinvesting, which will stifle growth too.

The policies announced at the recent budget prove Labour do not understand business. Far from encouraging growth, these policies will create financial strain for small businesses, impacting their employment capacity, long-term sustainability, and their ability to expand.

Small businesses are the backbone of thriving communities and economies. They create jobs, provide us with the goods and services that we need and support our local communities.

Supporting small businesses is not just an investment in individual entrepreneurs but also in the collective well-being of neighbourhoods, cities, and regions.

As they adapt and evolve to meet modern challenges, small businesses will continue to be a cornerstone of sustainable and inclusive growth and they need our support now more than ever.

So please continue to support your local businesses including those high street traders that do so much to improve the quality of all our lives.