The sell-out summit was organised by George Freeman, Founder of The Norfolk Way campaign and Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for the new Mid Norfolk Constituency at the next election. The meeting was attended by Shadow Minister of State for Small Business, Mark Prisk MP who spoke on: What should Government do for small businesses? The meeting was sponsored and hosted by the award winning Hunters Hall conference centre at Castle Farm, Swanton Morley.
George Freeman, founder of the Norfolk Way campaign, said: "Our small businesses are the lifeblood of our economy. Whilst irresponsible regulators and bankers in London are bailed out with billions of pounds of our money, local businesses are being hit by collapsing consumer spending and a refusal by banks to lend. Norfolk's rural businesses are hit especially hard.
Over recent years our leaders in London have forgotten that finance is just the oil of the real economy engine. We need to get back to a more balanced and sustainable economy in which finance is the servant of real business.
Mark Prisk MP, Shadow Minister of State for Small Business, said: "Government needs to recognise the difference between the Banking crisis, and the Real Economy crisis it is now causing. Well run businesses are now being crippled by the regulatory failures which have allowed greed, cheap credit and speculative financial engineering to get out of control. We supported the Government in its urgent action to prevent banking collapse, but we believe too little attention is now being spent on preventing a crisis in the real economy - which the banks ultimately rely on."
Neil Shillito, of Norwich based SG Wealth Management Ltd, said: "Of course the banking system must be supported but Government throwing a wall of money will not solve the problem. Small businesses are only struggling because they need credit to aid cash flow. The numbers involved in underwriting loans would be infinitesimally small compared to the billions being talked about at Westminster, but the effect would be dramatic in terms of preserving and creating jobs and supporting the GDP of the country as a whole."
Mr. Prisk went on to outline a number of key policies that the Conservatives are urging the Government to adopt to help small businesses, including:
- Abolishing income tax on savings for basic rate taxpayers and raise the pensioners' personal allowance by £2,000 to £11,490.
- Getting credit flowing and save jobs with a £50 billion National Loan Guarantee Scheme.
- Helping cashflow by delaying VAT bills for six months.
- Freezing council tax for two years by cutting wasteful Government spending.
- Getting companies hiring again through reducing employment costs for small businesses by cutting National Insurance, and through a tax break for new jobs.
- Over the long term we will get the public finances back under control with an Office for Budget Responsibility so no Labour Government can ever bankrupt this country again.
For more details please see below or contact George Freeman on 07855 252 999.
