Theresa Villiers, MP for Chipping Barnet, was out supporting local small businesses in East Barnet Village as part of Small Business Saturday on 2nd December. Accompanied by local campaigners Felix Byers, Pavan Pavanakumar and Anne-Marie Pearce, Theresa visited Paula McGhie's florist, Ludo's Cafe, and Antiques and Modern jewellery.
Small Business Saturday is a grass roots campaign now into its fifth year. It works to promote small businesses and encourage members of the public to support local small businesses.
Theresa said “Barnet has some fantastic small businesses and it was great to be able to visit some of them as part of Small Business Saturday. These traders are the back bone of the high streets and crucial to our local community. Small Business Saturday is a great way to promote the diverse range of local shops and businesses that we have in Barnet. The discussions I have had with businesses over this weekend have given me several good ideas on how to support our local high streets. I would encourage local residents to visit our excellent local shops and small businesses during the festive period.”
Theresa has a long track record of supporting local businesses. For example, she successfully persuaded the Government to provide small businesses and local high streets with help on business rates in the 2017 Spring Budget. Barnet Council is offering free parking in its town centre car parks and spaces every Saturday up to Christmas.