Cllr Pauline Jorgensen is the Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Earley and Woodley, and Leader of the Conservative Group on Wokingham Borough Council.
“Small firms are indispensable to the creation of jobs and of wealth,” said a former Conservative Prime Minister. Of course, she should know, she grew up in a grocer’s shop.
This is a sentiment, or rather fact, that I’m sure Conservative Home readers will agree with.
In the UK, there are 5.5 million small businesses representing 99.2 per cent of the total business population. According to the Federation of Small Businesses, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) account for three-fifths of employment. That is a lot of jobs, a lot of livelihoods. Each one represents a mortgage or rent that’s got to be paid.
But they don’t just represent an economic value, as important as that is; many small businesses are the backbone of town centres and high streets up and down the country. Small businesses within the hospitality, leisure and retail sectors often offer an element of social interaction and a personal customer service experience that is not always the case in larger businesses and chains. They are a vital part of our communities.
It seems so obvious to us, that it is possible to forget sometimes other parties don’t see this.
In Wokingham Borough, where the Liberal Democrats have been in control of the Council for two years, first in a coalition with Labour and this year as a minority administration with informal Labour support, we can’t forget. Instead, we are left with daily reminders.
Shortly after taking office, the Liberal Democrat leadership announced they would double parking charges and increase charging hours in the mornings, evenings and weekends. Wokingham is a Borough made up of small towns and villages with a semi-rural character. Not all residents have access to regular, reliable public transport near where they live. Despite petitions and warnings from residents, local retailers and Conservative councillors, the Liberal Democrats increased the charges. These punishing increases would not have been possible without the support of Labour councillors. And if that wasn’t enough, this year they put charges up again.
Businesses have repeatedly told the Liberal Democrats the doubling of parking charges is affecting trade in our town centres. The Liberal Democrats’ response is that it’s “too easy to blame Wokingham Borough Council”. At Christmas, where the Conservatives had previously offered shoppers free parking, the Liberal Democrats funded free bus travel for shoppers to spend their money in larger towns outside the Borough.
This is a folly that is hardly unique to Wokingham. In Mid Sussex, Tunbridge Wells and Winchester, Liberal Democrats have put up parking charges despite local opposition.
During the previous Conservative administration, the Wokingham Borough Council embarked on a major regeneration of Wokingham town centre to preserve and enhance its market town feel. This has added much needed sociable outside space to the town, with a new square for alfresco dining, benches, trees, a popular children’s play area, green spaces, and wildflowers. It has also brought a range of new shops, cafes and restaurants, and a cinema.
Since its completion, it has been nominated for awards and is a project we Conservatives are rightly proud of.
However, it was opposed at the time by Liberal Democrat councillors and others. This includes the current Deputy Leader of the Council, who called for a “dark store”, only be serviced by delivery vehicles, to be built in the town. Another Liberal Democrat described the plans as “massive, overbearing and out of keeping with Wokingham”.
Sadly, this total lack of vision and ambition by the Liberal Democrats is something we still see today in their running of the Council. But it is ambition that is needed to keep our town centres alive and to give shops a chance to compete with online retailers.
None of the regeneration benefits we are enjoying now would have been possible had the Liberal Democrats been in charge then.
Under them a development of flats, part of the regeneration, has sat empty and half-finished for 18 months after the contractor pulled out, with the Liberal Democrats finally acting after being challenged by Conservative councillors. This delay has eroded profit for the taxpayer and let down would be first time buyers and local businesses too, who would benefit from increased footfall.
The top two floors of the Council’s offices are empty after it was consolidated over a year ago because of staff working from home.
Yet despite promises to explore letting the empty space to generate an income, there’s been no progress, losing an estimated £300,000 per annum.
Other councils have successfully let out office space to public sector or charitable organisations, or offered co-working spaces bringing in extra money and extra workers into town centres. This empty space represents coffees and sandwiches not bought, barbers not visited, and shop windows not seen. For our local small businesses these are just more lost opportunities.
As Judy Terry pointed out last month this lack of vision for town centres is not something only the Liberal Democrats are guilty of. Labour too is letting down communities.
Conservatives need to retake their mantle as the party of small businesses. We need to articulate a vision for our smaller towns and village centres which, while retaining local character, is ambitious for the local areas we represent and keep them alive by increasing footfall. More than that we need to listen to business and be responsive to their needs. And we must not forget, without the employment small businesses provide there would be greater pressure on council services.