Local people want great local jobs, and they want our 5,000 brilliant local businesses to thrive. I’ve helped build one business, and then started out on my own so I know the joy our local entrepreneurs feel when the business is growing and you can offer a job to someone, but also the strain and responsibility of making sure the payroll is covered, and how bureaucracy and paperwork can suck away vital time. That means I get it, so I'll fight even harder to make a difference.
Last year, I joined the FSB's fight to get the VAT threshold raised. It's now £90,000 but I'll work to deliver a threshold at £110,000, giving our small businesses more room to grow.
- Locally, I’ll push councils to ensure there are decent commercial premises available and that they make use of the powers created by Conservatives in the Levelling Up Act so that premises which remain empty for over a year, dragging down the high street, are rented out to local businesses that want to use them. And I’ll work with our major employers to ensure a culture of prompt payment – setting an example to other constituencies.
- Regionally, we can benefit from being at the heart of the UK’s ‘golden triangle’ for science, technology and innovation. I will beat the drum for our area and our cutting edge companies, our emerging computer game hub in Letchworth, and the richness of our residents’ skills and expertise, relied upon by Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst and Cambridges’ tech start-ups. In turn this should feed into great apprenticeships for our school leavers.
- Nationally, I’ll campaign to raise the VAT tax threshold giving businesses more room to grow and take on that first employee without the fear of having to hike prices by 20% or deal with the bureaucratic burden.
I'll work closely with you to understand the issues in your sector, and for our businesses overall, and then I'll get stuck in.
For more local businesses and more local jobs, 'Vote Nikki' on Thursday 4 July.