Stuart Anderson MP has thrown his support behind Small Business Saturday, which returns on 6th December 2025.
The national campaign takes place each every on the first Saturday of December. It celebrates and encourages support for small businesses in communities across the UK.
Over the last decade it has been running in the UK, the campaign has engaged millions of people. Recent campaigns have inspired over £1 billion in spending at local businesses on the Saturday alone.
This year, the theme is 'celebrating the nation's favourite businesses.' From independent cafes to family-run shops, these enterprises represent 98% of UK businesses. South Shropshire is home to 5,805 small businesses.
With 5.5 million of them, almost every business in the country is a small business. They support 27 million jobs and account for more than half (£4.5 trillion) of annual business turnover.
To support the revival of South Shropshire's high streets, Stuart has been seeking the views of local residents and businesses in his Shop Local Survey.
This has received thousands of responses from market towns, including Bridgnorth, Ludlow, Church Stretton, Bishops Castle Much Wenlock, Cleobury Mortimer as well as many more.
While the results show that most people continue to often visit our high streets, this has sadly decreased for hundreds of local residents.
At the same time, more than half of the businesses reported that their confidence has decreased over the past year.
This is confirmed by the most recent Red Flag Alert from Begbies Traynor, which has found that more than four thousand businesses in Shropshire are in significant financial distress, up 15% from last year.
Over the last year, Stuart has also hosted roundtable discussions with Shropshire Chamber of Commerce and local businesses. The most recent one took place in Ludlow in October 2025.
Stuart has also called for banking hubs in South Shropshire. This follows the closure of Lloyds Bank in both Bridgnorth and Ludlow. Yorkshire Building Society in Church Stretton has also announced it will close next year.
To support the local business community, Stuart has also refreshed his Business Support Finder. This signposts businesses to a range of grants, tax reliefs, and competitions that they may be eligible to apply for.
Stuart Anderson MP said:
I am delighted to welcome the return of Small Business Saturday, which celebrates and encourages support for small businesses. Over the last year, I have been delighted to meet many hard-working business owners and shop keepers in South Shropshire. They are the backbone of our rural economy and the lifeblood of our local communities. With over five thousand of them, almost every business in South Shropshire is a small business. Many of them have been family owned for generations. They employ thousands of local people. I am concerned that small businesses across the country are closing at the fastest rate since the pandemic. Due to recent government decisions, recruitment is at an all-time low and one in three employers are planning redundancies. The biggest factor, businesses tell me, is the government’s damaging tax hikes. Despite these huge pressures, I will continue to campaign for the funding and support that will enable these businesses to thrive. This remains a vital part of my plan to unleash rural prosperity."
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