Yesterday (29th October) MPs voted in favour of an early General Election to be held on 12th December.
The Early Parliamentary General Election legislation will now pass through the House of Lords and is not expected to be opposed. Once the legislation passes, Parliament will dissolve on 6th December to begin a five-week campaign up to polling day.
Retailers may want to consider hosting a store visit with the candidates in their constituency, to raise the issues that affect their colleagues and the day to day running of their business.
ACS chief executive James Lowman said: “Inviting candidates to your store is an effective way to help them to understand the practicalities of running a convenience store, the positive impact that local shops have on the communities that they serve and the way that policy decisions affect our sector.
“We would encourage retailers to think about hosting a visit in their store to ensure that their concerns are heard.”
ACS has developed a checklist of steps for retailers when hosting a store visit:
- Walk them round the store and outside the store so they can see what you do as well as hearing about it
- If you have a particular policy issue you want to talk to them about, show them the part of the store that’s impacted by it
- Emphasise the investment you have made in your store and your community, and in the colleagues you employ
- Tell your colleagues that the candidate is coming and ask them if there’s anything they want to raise with the candidate while they’re in store – your colleagues will probably also be that candidate’s constituents
- If you have a local issue to raise, give as much detail as you want, but remember to ask something specific of the candidate, for example, “would you write to the council about this for me?”
- Contact ACS if you would like any help with the visit, for example arranging the visit or assisting with communications after the visit has taken place
- Ask the candidate during the visit if they are happy for you to take a photo to post on social media and if they would be happy for you to contact trade press and the local papers about the visit
- Contact ACS if you want an update of a policy debate, because it’s worth knowing if there’s an upcoming debate or vote on the issues you’re raising or who the key decision-makers in government are
- Just as with a local issue, being specific about what you want your candidate to do is key: for example, “would you write to the minister on my behalf so he/she is aware of this issue?”
- Contact ACS for a constituency card, so you can show them that there are many (on average about 70) convenience stores like you in their constituency, so your issues are likely to be relevant to more of their constituents
If you’d like more information or help to organise a visit, please get in touch with us on 01252 515001.
