Alan Duncan, Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulation visited Wolverhampton on Friday. With the pre budget report and Queen’s Speech at the forefront of peoples’ minds Alan wanted to talk to businesses about Conservative plans that would help the current economic situation and also hear firsthand about how the Government’s plans and actions have helped or hindered enterprise in Wolverhampton.
In the heart of the Black Country and Britain’s manufacturing base we both visited Rubber Astic who are based in Bilston and are a leading designer and supplier of sealing solutions, gaskets, washers and seals. The general feeling was that cash flow will be key to businesses surviving the downturn and that we need pragmatic policies to get through tough times. The changes to VAT were seen as ineffectual and more focus had to be applied to the cash flow situation of the SME sector. This will result in less cost to the Government as employees are retained by businesses in the medium/short term rather than the workforce having to be trimmed and so obviously supported by the state.
Paul
