ACS

5 May 2010

In his speech to ACS Summit 10, taking place on the eve of the General Election, ACS Chief Executive James Lowman has revealed exclusive ACS polling that shows that more than half of independent convenience retailers are yet to make up their mind on who to vote for.

Mr Lowman said: "Even in the last weeks of campaigning, many local shops are still open to being convinced by the political parties that they deserve their support.

The poll, which revealed that 54% of retailers had not yet made up their mind who to vote for compares to 24% of the general population convered by national opinion polling. Conservative support is at 24%, just short of the national figure of 23%. Both Labour (11%) and the Liberal Democrats (8%) have polled lower than national opinion polls.

Mr Lowman has also set out what local shops want from the new Government: "For many it's not about what colour the new Government is, it's about the specific actions they will take that will help or harm our ability to do business."

"What matters is what Government will do and our polling gives a clear mandate for action to the next Government. In the election campaign we have been delighted by the amount of support there is for the local shop, with candidates across the country taking the Local Shops Pledge. The challenge we will lay down is for the politicians to match the rhetoric with action."

In polling, the five most important things that retailers want from the next Government are:

• Safeguards against bad practice by energy companies (76%)
• Restrict the power of supermarkets (69%)
• Reduce the burden of business rates (62%)
• Resist increases in business taxes (61%)
• Tougher action on retail crime (58%)