Britain’s growth plan will fail if it forgets its smallest firms

The Government talks endlessly about growth, investment and industrial strategy, but many of Britain’s small business owners are wondering when any of it will reach them. From soaring National Insurance costs and rising wages to business rates, energy bills and late payments, millions of small and micro firms are fighting for survival. They don’t want subsidies or special favours. They want less red tape, faster planning, fair payment terms and stable rules. If ministers are serious about economic growth, they need to stop treating small businesses as an afterthought. Britain’s growth starts with its smallest firms and always has.

Running a small business has become increasingly difficult, if not impossible.

I read a heartrending letter in a national newspaper over the weekend.

The women wielding the pen has run her retail business for 27 years, building it in to what she described as the Michelin-star equivalent of retail.

She said: “The impact of rising minimum wages, increased national insurance contributions and higher business rates, alongside soaring material costs and a decline in customers’ disposable income, has created a perfect storm. Running a small business has become increasingly difficult, if not impossible. Niche independent businesses feel these pressures far more acutely than mainstream operators. It’s the smallest people who are hit the hardest”.

small businesses being obliterated

It’s time for the Government, whoever leads it and of whichever colour, to BACK THE UK’s SMALL and MICRO BUSINESSES OR LOSE THEM

The Government’s mission‑led industrial strategy sets big “growth missions”, uses sector plans, regulation, procurement, skills and finance to crowd‑in private investment.

At the high level.

• Industrial strategy is back: A long‑term, sector‑based plan is more coherent than ad‑hoc budgets and short‑term schemes.

• Focus on investment and productivity: Targeting sectors with high spillovers (clean energy, digital, life sciences) is economically rational.

• Missions and “crowding‑in” investment: Using public policy to unlock private capital is standard modern industrial policy.

But there are three big weaknesses:

1. SME and micro‑business underweight: The strategy is heavily framed around big sectors and large investors. The everyday growth engine, small and micro firms in services, local manufacturing, care, construction, hospitality, is mostly treated as insignificant.

2. Delivery risk in planning, skills and infrastructure: Manufacturers are already warning that planning delays and slow reform are deterring investment, which directly undermines the strategy’s promise to make investment “quicker and easier”.

3. Institutional churn and policy volatility: A 10‑year plan only works if tax, regulation, skills and energy policy are stable. The UK’s recent record, frequent policy changes, shifting business support schemes, and political turnover, has increased uncertainty for businesses.

The UK’s small and micro businesses, which keep the country running, are fed up being treated like the nation’s piggy bank and paperwork machine. They’re the shops, builders, carers, cafés, freelancers, florists, trades and techies which power every high street and community. They don’t want handouts. They want a level playing field. And they want it now.

The UK’s 5.5 million small firms need, as a matter of urgency:

Less Red Tape

They’re drowning in forms, licences, reporting rules and box‑ticking. Every hour spent on pointless admin is an hour not earning, not hiring, not growing. They need:

• A Small Business Exemption for low‑risk rules

• A one‑in, one‑out rule for new reporting

• A 48‑hour turnaround for simple licences and permissions

Let us run our businesses, not your paperwork.

SORT OUT LATE PAYMENTS

Big firms sitting on our money for 60, 90, 120 days? It’s legalised mugging.

The Commercial Payments Bill (aka the Small Business Protections (Late Payments) Bill) must speed through parliaments and be implemented before it’s too late. And while the Bill is welcome an amendment to 30‑day maximum payment terms would be much better than 60.

FIX THE VAT TRAP

The VAT threshold cliff‑edge kills growth. Firms shouldn’t have to choose between staying small or going bust. They need:

• A higher threshold

• A tapered system, not a cliff

• Simple, stable rules that don’t change every five minutes

Let firms grow without being punished for it.

FAST-TRACK PLANNING FOR SMALL FIRMS

Planning moves slower than our garden snails after a wet weekend. Businesses need:

• A fast lane for small commercial applications

• Guaranteed decisions within six weeks

• Local authorities judged on speed, not excuses

Growth shouldn’t be stuck in a queue.

FAIR ENERGY, FAIR RENT, FAIR DEALS

Small firms are being hammered by energy contracts, sky‑high rents and suppliers who think they’re soft targets. They need:

• Fair contract rules for micro firms

• A ban on hidden fees and rollover traps

• A national Small Business Energy Tariff

Stop treating them like cash cows.

SKILLS FOR REAL JOBS, NOT JUST DESK JOBS

We need chefs, carers, welders, electricians, hairdressers, coders, not more endless theory. Business owners need:

• Local skills partnerships led by employers

• Training built around real jobs, not bureaucracy

• Funding that follows learners and employers, not middlemen

Train people for the jobs UK businesses need.

BACK THE HIGH STREET

Businesses on the high streets are sick of glossy announcements that never reach the ground. They need:

• A High Street Renewal Fund focused on small units

• Cheaper parking, safer streets, better transport

• Long‑term support for local enterprise agencies, not stop‑start schemes

Revive our high streets or watch them die.

Fair treatment please

Small and micro businesses don’t want special treatment. They need fair treatment and proportionality. There’s nothing new here. Small and micro business owner have been calling for the same things, saying the same things for decades. They are crucial to the UK economy, wider society and to their local areas and communities. They’re the first to open, last to close, and always the ones holding communities together. Back them, and the UK grows. Ignore them and the situation the UK finds itself in will only get worse. Growth starts with the smallest and trickles up.