Chuka Umunna MP, Labour’s Shadow Business Secretary, in a speech to business owners in London, said:

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Thank you so much for inviting me to speak to you today.

We know it has been an incredibly difficult few years for businesses large and small, but thanks to your determination to succeed and sheer hard work the recovery which stalled in 2010 has kicked back into life.

That said, we know the environment is far from an easy one and there is more which needs to be done to enable you to achieve your aspirations and dreams as businesses.

People often talk about London as if business is booming, the orders are flooding in and the good times are rolling. It is true that there are many who are doing very well in our city but others still struggle.

Londoners on average are earning over £3,000 less, after inflation, than they were in 2010, compared to a £1,600 reduction nationally, unemployment is 0.8 per cent above the national average and we have a higher rate of poverty than the rest of England. This of course is affecting people’s spending power – we are in the midst of a cost of living crisis. And this has a knock on effect on your businesses.

Added to this, the costs and impediments of doing business for local businesses like yours – whether in London or elsewhere – have spiralled and persist.

Business rates have rocketed by £1,850 on average since 2010, forming an ever more significant part of companies’ overall tax burden. You are still struggling to get finance from the banks to expand and grow. Lending to small and medium sized firms is down by over £2.8 billion in the last year while net lending to all businesses is down by over £56 billion since May 2010. And you - like the customers you serve – have been subject to energy price hikes.

We are also all too aware of the way in which some of your large customers force you to in effect bank roll them by refusing to pay you on time. I simply don’t think the current Government has done enough to help you with these things.

Above all, to plan for the future and determine where to deploy investment you need a stable environment and Government to adopt a long term approach similar to your investment horizons which will often stretch into the next decade not just this one.

We are called the “Labour” party because we were founded to help working people and to ensure people have good, secure, work that pays a wage you can live off. But you can’t be pro jobs unless you back the people who create them which is what we will do if we are given the privilege to serve in office again next year.

It starts with recognising the contribution you make. That is why I instigated Small Business Saturday in the UK, which has become the country’s biggest celebration of business in a generation. Last year it helped push near to half a billion pounds of extra trade to small businesses on 7 December, the first Saturday of December. This year it will be taking place on 6 December and I very much encourage you to get involved.

Next, it means doing what we can to reduce the costs of doing business in the short term. That is why at our party’s annual conference last year, Ed Miliband announced that we will cut and then freeze business rates from 2015/16 saving business properties an average of £410 over two years. We are committed to maintaining the most competitive corporation tax in the G7. The energy price freeze which we will implement for 17 months after the election would save the average small business £5,000 and we will increase competition in the banking sector to help ensure you get a better deal.

We will also seek to ensure that it is as easy as possible for you to be digitally connected. After all, with the aid of digital technology, you can now run a multinational from your home but it often takes far too long for you to get broadband and the connection speeds are not what they should be. Indeed infrastructure investment has fallen under this government.

But we need to make the right calls for the long term too which is why earlier this year I launched Agenda 2030, our plan to do just that. We have deliberately given it that name in recognition that you as businesses do not work to 4 and 5 year election cycles but look far beyond that – I think we should work to your time horizons.
There are four key parts to our plan for the future.

First, we must release the talents of all our people and above all ensure you can get the workforce with the skills you need. So we’ll ensure there are clear vocational as well as academic pathways in education. Starting in school, the path will extend through high quality apprenticeships right through to technical degrees.

And we must ensure that entrepreneurs from all backgrounds and with good ideas can get the support they need to start and grow their own businesses. This is why, unlike the other parties, we will do what the Federation of Small Businesses has called for and set up a dedicated Small Business Administration.

Second, to capture new markets around the world we must put innovation at the heart of our economy, solving tomorrow’s problems today. This is how we can pay our way in the world. So we will put in place a long term frame work for the funding of science and innovation in our country to help you develop the new technologies and ways of working that will help us do this.

Third, we must actively support you, setting clear strategic direction, supporting the development of industries where we have a competitive edge, and creating a more certain environment for business investment. One way we can do this is by doing all we can to ensure you get a look in on Government contracts. And we will also give more power and funding to city and county regions, and invest for the long-term with an independent National Infrastructure Commission

Finally, we must engage with the world beyond our shores – this has been key to the success of this global city. Maintaining our membership of our nearest and largest market, the EU, is fundamental. The biggest threat on the horizon for British business is a potential UK exit from Europe which many in the Conservative Party flirt with and which UKIP of course actively campaigns for.

In my view, instead of walking off the field with our bats, we should stay on the EU field and bat for Britain, focusing all our energies on reforming the EU to make it more growth focused. And – while we’re at it - we should view the EU not as an alternative to trade with emerging economies but as a gateway to them.

Let me conclude by saying this: in spite of the challenges we face, I am incredibly optimistic because of the innate dynamism and ingenuity of the British people – it is all around us here in London. Our job as policy makers is not to step back – as some would argue – but to empower you and do all we can to enable you to fulfil your potential. That is what we will do if elected next year.

Ends

Please find a link to Labour’s briefing document The Choice: Long Term Growth: http://bit.ly/1thd2rQ