Politicians should listen to the voice of business

May 13 2008 By Mike Cherry

It is often the business voice that adds the forgotten common sense, the necessary expertise and the balance to consultations surrounding the myriad of issues facing this region.

Equally it is becoming more important, and necessary, for our politicians to listen to the needs of the business sector, which is after all the wealth creator and driver of our region’s economy.

Looking at the implications of the decision to transfer major pieces of the work of the Regional Assembly to both Advantage West Midlands and local authorities, it is crucial if we are to retain the benefits, as well as the added value to the process, that the business voice remains – there should in fact be a statutory duty to consult – and to continue in the processes where the business voice has genuinely helped.

Businesses are in the best place to constructively help shape the way forward, and often our resource is given freely and without any strings.

Here in the West Midlands we are fortunate that all sectors of the business community are brought together under the West Midlands Business Council, representing all the various regional business organisations, and bringing others on board on specific issues.

Small businesses are represented particularly well as they have an equal say in the process, and can give their very different but necessary perspective across all the issues affecting them.

I have often stated in this column that small businesses are unique in being able to fully represent the views from not only the urban, but especially the rural areas which make up so much of our region. From Herefordshire right up to the Staffordshire Marches, from Shropshire and Worcestershire across to Warwickshire we are uniquely placed.

Small businesses are also too often stated as the 'backbone of the economy’, and yet time and time again the simple fact that they are very much part and parcel of their local communities seems to be conveniently lost. Equally we do not up sticks and move abroad when taxation becomes too high. Taxation, though, without representation is certainly not the way ahead.

Focusing forwards, we have the European elections next year, and a General Election no later than the year after – small businesses represent well over a half of the private sector workforce and contribute at least half of the UK’s GDP, interesting statistics for politicians to ponder.

As this will be my last column, (I move on to take up a national position in our policy team), I would just like to thank all the readers over the last four years for taking the time to read what I hope has been an interesting if different perspective on the main issues affecting small businesses.

I am sure that as we support and drive the agenda here in the region, our policy manager, Denise Craig, will prove to be a worthy successor.

* Mike Cherry is the West Midlands policy unit chairman for the Federation of Small Businesses.