Member Article

Shadow Minister talks EU with small business owners

The Shadow Minister for Small Business, Bill Esterson, met with around 50 small business owners in Croydon this morning at an event organised by the EU Small Business campaign, in association with Shaking Hands, a local network for small and medium-sized businesses.

Mr Esterson spoke about why he believed it was in the interests of small business owners to vote to remain in the European Union at next week’s Referendum, as well as taking questions from the floor.

“My wife owns a small business and I can tell you how tough it was for her business during the downturn caused by the last financial shock,” he told the audience.

“We are already seeing a flight of capital and foreign investors saying they will cancel their plans, and we haven’t even voted yet. These are really serious threats to our economy with a likely prolonged economic downturn because of the uncertainty.”

He went on to comment that nobody can say with any certainty what leaving the EU will look like but that there is greater certainty if we vote to remain in the EU and greater uncertainty if we vote to leave.

“Small business owners tell me it doesn’t affect them if they are a sole trader or if they don’t sell abroad, but if the economy goes down because of the uncertainty that will inevitably be created, then it will affect everybody”

“I don’t think that anyone thinks our relationship with the European Union is perfect and I certainly don’t think we have made the most of it. If we vote to stay, we have to be more enthusiastic about the relationship, to fight for further reforms and get the best out of it for British people. That’s the way forward,” he concluded.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Howard Robinson .