On Friday 6th December Marcus Jones MP for Nuneaton and John Bates the FSB Nuneaton & Bedworth Branch Chairman had a ‘Keep Trade Local’ shopping trip in Nuneaton town centre. Visiting both retailers and service businesses the MP took to the town to see business owners from Burgis & Bullock, Katz Fancy Dress and a small haberdashery in Nuneaton Town Centre.

Alongside the shopping trip, the FSB also launched a consumer challenge is to try and use as many local businesses as possible for one week (Friday 6th – Thursday 12th December). We are encouraging people to sign up for the challenge (www.fsb.org.uk/warwickshire) online. At the end of the challenge participants who have entered their total spend will be entered into a draw for one lucky person to win the cash prize of £250, just for keeping trade local.

John Bates, FSB Nuneaton & Bedworth Chairman, said: “Just as big supermarkets and other retailers have an important role in the local community, so too is it essential to have vibrant local traders. We must remember that small businesses really are the engine room of the economy as they employ more than half of all private sector workers and contribute 50 per cent of UK GDP. We hope that this campaign will encourage businesses and local people to work together and make their local high street a place to visit.“

Marcus Jones, the MP for Nuneaton, said “I was delighted to support this excellent and important initiative to help support our local and small businesses here in Nuneaton. There are a good number of quality small businesses in the town and we have to do more to support them. With the temptations and convenience of shopping online, it poses a real risk to the viability of many businesses and the message here is very simple to local people: Use Them or Lose Them.”