Last week I held a Business Roundtable in Exmouth.
It was a chance to hear directly about the pressures that are affecting local businesses. Rising business rates, higher National Insurance, energy costs and wage pressures are all biting, and many were clear that government policy is a big part of the problem.
We had a really useful mix of voices in the room, from family-run businesses to leisure, retail, and community representatives. The message was consistent: costs are going up, risk is harder to take, and running a small business is becoming more difficult.
I’ll be taking these points back to Westminster and continuing to push for a more realistic approach that reflects the pressure businesses are under.
