Enough Talk of Bendy Buses

The election campaign for London Mayor was full of talk of bendy buses and booze bans, but rarely was the topic of small businesses mentioned; both surprising and disappointing given how important SMEs are to the economy.

According to the Federation of Small Businesses, businesses with fewer than ten employees form over 90% of London’s 600,000 enterprises. Meanwhile, the Mayor’s own website recognises that small businesses provide jobs for 40% of the Londoners employed in business. This proportion is growing and small businesses are helping to keep the London economy afloat at a time when the wider economy is suffering from a global slowdown.

Now that Boris Johnson is established as Mayor, it is crucial that he works to ensure small businesses are able to ride out the current economic difficulties and indeed emerge stronger for it. Small businesses are uniquely placed to prop up the London economy when some bigger businesses may falter, but they need to be supported.

The new Mayor has good small business credentials, and I was pleased to see in his mayoral manifesto that he planned to ensure LDA funding is diverted to giving London’s businesses the support they need. He has also promised to scrap the proposed £25 Congestion Charge, a levy that would have hit new businesses right at the time when they are most fragile and likely to fail. But one must ask, why we have not heard more about these proposals since he has taken office?

Supporting London’s businesses, both large and small, looks to be one of the Mayor’s plans. Yet, in the month since he took over the role, we have seen little evidence that his policies to help SMEs are at the top of his agenda. Since small business play such a huge role in London, the Mayor should be standing on the rooftops of City Hall, shouting about his plans to support them.

London is rightly proud to be home to some of the biggest and most important companies in the world, but it is important to remember these companies are only in London because of the products, services and vibrancy that small businesses bring to the city. If you’ve got good policies and real intent Boris, then give SME’s some airtime!

John Spencer is the chief executive officer of MWB Business Exchange

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