News: 3rd January 2013

Labour is urging the coalition government to adopt a US scheme that celebrates the work of small businesses and encourages people to shop in an independent retailer.

Across the Atlantic, Americans celebrate Small Business Saturday after Thanksgiving has finished in a day sponsored by American Express.

And now Shadow Business Secretary Chuka Umunna is calling on the UK to do the same by proposing December 7th as the day to celebrate the work of small firms.

Mr Umunna said that more needs to be done to celebrate small independent businesses and "encourage people to buy from them".

"Establishing a Small Business Saturday in the UK, a concept which has enjoyed considerable success in the US, would provide a small but simple and effective way to celebrate local small businesses and encourage more people to buy from them on one of the busiest shopping days of the year," he added.

It comes after the Co-operative Bank revealed that nearly half of the small businesses it questioned are expecting growth in 2013.

Posted by Thomas Fletcher