The UK has a new Prime Minister in Sir Keir Starmer, who has won the 2024 General Election and will form the next Government with the Labour Party.
As a result of the General Election, there are now hundreds of new MPs, many of which with very small majorities, that will be keen to embed themselves in their community and listen to the concerns of local people and businesses.
This summer is a great opportunity to meet with your new (or returning) MP and highlight any issues that you face as a business locally, as well as discussing the impact of the wider national agenda on your business.
How to Run a Store Visit
Getting your MP to visit your store is a great way of building a relationship and making sure they understand what our sector needs from the new government.
When the MP arrives at your store, introduce yourself and your store team, give them a quick tour of the shop to show them what you offer the community, and most importantly, offer them a cup of tea!
MPs should be interested in local issues affecting your business, employees and the local community. For example, discuss what is affecting trade in your area, concerns about anti-social behaviour, or information about local groups and charities you work with.
Three key questions you can ask them during the visits that are important to local shops:
- What are your plans to raise issues shop theft, violence and abuse towards shopworkers?
- How will you help businesses invest and improve the places we trade, like town centres and local parades?
- How will you support businesses like mine with the cost of employing people?
It’s really important that you ask to get a photo with your MP and share it on social media using the hashtag #MyLocalShop.
Why Local Shops Matter
- The UK's 49,000+ convenience stores trade in more communities than any other type of shop or service, offering a broad range of products and a growing range of services including Post Offices, parcel collection, prescription collections and cash machines.
- Convenience stores are at the heart of their communities, ranking as one of the services that has the most positive impact alongside pharmacies and Post Offices; 79% of stores contribute to charity, voluntary and community activity.
- 437,000 people work in secure, flexible, local employment provided by convenience store retailers; colleagues feel valued and their work fits around care, study and other commitments.
- Convenience stores make a huge contribution to the UK economy, generating over £47bn in sales over the last year, investing over £646m in their businesses.
Download the full briefing on Why Local Shops Matter here.
The ACS Local Shop Report is a great tool for highlighting the importance of the convenience sector. You can download the Local Shop Report here.
What Happens Next?
The first opportunity for the Prime Minister and his Cabinet Ministers to set out their legislative agenda for this parliament will be in the Kings Speech on July 17th. This will be followed by a major fiscal event in the atutumn, either an Autumn Budget or Autumn Statement, where spending plans for the next year will be outlined.
As the new Government settles in, we will be engaging with Ministers and officials on the priorities for our sector. This includes key areas like tackling violence and abuse, incentivising investment, and recognising the secure, local and flexible employment that local shops provide. A one page briefing on our priorities is available here.
Contact Us
If you'd like to get in touch with us about arranging a store visit or anything else to do with local engagement, details for our Public Affairs team are below:
Jordan Newfield, Public Affairs Manager: [email protected]
Daniel Askew, Public Affairs Executive: [email protected]
Willem Van de Ven, Public Affairs Executive: [email protected]
