WHEN I am walking through our local high streets and visiting small businesses in our area, I am always impressed by the hard work, dedication, and innovation that goes on in the place that we call home.

As your MP, I often talk about why we need to unlock economic opportunities in South East Cornwall and how important it is that an increase in living standards is felt by everyone in our communities not just those at the top.

From the pandemic to Tory chaos, business leaders in our region speak with me about how the past few years have been particularly challenging. There’s a lot of work to be done for businesses to regain confidence and thrive. I am glad that in our first year, the economy has grown, but I want to speak about the next things that need to change, so that people in South East Cornwall actually feel the extra pounds in their pockets.

One of the first things I am calling for and working hard to deliver is a crackdown on dreadful late payments for small businesses. After working tirelessly to deliver a product, the last thing local businesses need is lengthy delays in receiving payments. It’s simply not fair, so I am actively pushing for support on this issue with people locally and in Parliament.

When the Chancellor was down over the summer, one of the main things we spoke about was supporting independent businesses. I know that she had gone out of her way to specifically support local independent businesses, which was great to see from our Chancellor.

I also raised with her the issue of high VAT rates in the hospitality sector to further support local businesses. The issues affecting rural and coastal communities like ours need to be looked at more. Tourism is one of our greatest strengths but I am looking at how to deliver an economy as strong in January as it is in July. Cornwall is a unique place and needs sufficient, targeted investment to fully unlock our potential. I’ll continue to work with Ministers to deliver on this.

Making our high streets better destinations, where people don’t just shop but actually enjoy visiting, is also key to supporting businesses. Local groups are already doing some fantastic work to brighten up our community spaces, like Torpoint Arts Collective, who I met with over the summer. We spoke about their strategy for developing arts, culture and creative industries in the town. Some really exciting work is going on here, and I’ll be keeping an eye out for future projects and what I can do to support.

Looking to the future, I remain convinced that economic growth starts at home, with small businesses a key player, especially in our rural and coastal area. I will continue to support independent businesses, and will keep you updated about my work to clamp down on late payments as a starting point for making business easier.