A Cumbrian businesswoman helped celebrate the 10th anniversary of Small Business Saturday with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
Maria Whitehead, co-owner of Hawkshead Relish, was invited to London to attend a special Christmas street market this week.
Joined by Mr Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty and the Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt, 12 firms had the opportunity to showcase their products at the event celebrating the best of up-and-coming British business, including the likes of Birchall Tea, Finnebrogue Artisan, Wensleydale Creamery and Sandwick Bay Candles.
A record 5.5 million small businesses registered in the UK at the start of 2022, providing jobs for 16.4 million people in the UK. These are businesses that in many cases play a key role in sustaining and strengthening the places in which they operate.
Each year, Small Business Saturday aims to galvanise support for small businesses across the UK and to encourage people to support those that operate in their communities.
Maria met and talked to the PM and his wife and took the opportunity to present them with a selection of Hawkshead Relish goodies and to chat with them about current export market opportunities and her coming trip to India in 2023.
Maria was also spoke to the Chancellor, during which she chatted with him about the difficulties being experienced by many small businesses across the country, particularly those in rural areas in the face of the current economic climate.
Maria said: “It was really helpful to have the opportunity to chat with both the Prime Minister and the Chancellor and discuss some of the issues small businesses in rural areas are facing at the moment.
“There’s no doubt it’s been another tough year for small independent businesses, but they’ve shown remarkable resilience and innovation in adapting to meet the challenges currently being experienced by businesses of every size up and down the country.
“I would encourage communities to support their local small businesses as much as possible, in doing so they help keep local people in employment, circulate money in the economy and help maintain those communities as vibrant places in which to live and work.”
Mr Sunak said: ‘’Growing up in a family business, I know the transformative impact a small business can have on the local economy and community. So, I encourage everyone to get behind their local businesses and invest in Britain.
“Businesses across the UK can be reassured that this government will always support them, especially during these challenging economic times. We are backing businesses with £13.6bn worth of support over the next 5 years, with further support for businesses with their energy bills through the Energy Bill Relief scheme.”
