1. Vale Life : May/Jun 2015- 53
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l Column: Small World with Robyn Bourne
L
obbying, sounds dull
but it could just make a
difference to your business
concerns.
With the election now behind
us how does the voice of business
get heard, and will it make any
difference with no election looming,
for another five years?
Lobbying governments and key
stakeholders is a vital way of
letting those that can do something
know what needs addressing, and
how they can use their positions
to make a change. Not just
through heated argument but by a
constructed response with carefully
thought through suggestions and
solutions.
The Federation of Small
Business (FSB) was set up 40 years
ago as a lobbying organisation*
and to this day still provides a voice
for business owners to be heard at
levels that they might not be able to
reach by themselves, or to provide
that extra bit of support when they
come across an area of concern
that they feel unable tackle alone.
Lobbying organisations are happy
to get behind a campaign that will
help and support those people who
need it most but whose voice by
itself might go unheard.
At the FSB, we do this by looking
at the problem, working out the key
areas that need to be addressed
and then approaching the people
that can make these changes.
We investigate the impact on
all small business owners, not just
our members, and ensure that
any desired outcome or changes
required have their best interests
at heart.
As an organisation we work
at both a national and regional
level. It isn’t just about lobbying
government, but any organisation
that is potentially having an effect
on SMEs from local councils to
larger businesses, local MPs or
county councils.
An example of lobbying that
I am currently working on is
the Waddesdon relief road.
We, along with other local
lobbying organisations, have been
approached by the Waddesdon
Relief Road Campaign to give
our backing and support to their
proposal for a delivery road
bypassing Waddesdon Village along
the A41 corridor between Aylesbury
and Bicester.
We are looking at how this will
affect business owners, either for
good or bad, and will then work
with the campaign organisers to get
the best possible result all round.
It is about joining together and
getting a voice heard and acted
upon for the best possible interests
of those concerned.
If you have an issue that you feel
strongly about, or something that
is affecting your business, why not
try approaching an appropriate
lobbying organisation to see if this
is something that they can help
you with. It doesn’t always have to
be the large things, but something
affecting you might be an issue to
lots of others as well and worth
working together on to achieve a
better result for all concerned.
A few examples of issues that I
have had across my desk... parking
charges stopping customers visiting
town centres, business rates
crippling businesses, congestion
on the roads, roadworks stopping
people working productively,
broadband isn’t up to standard...
and many more.You are unlikely
to be alone with your problem and
sharing it could just make all the
difference.
*other lobbying organisations are
available!
l Robyn Bourne is the
Development Manager for the
Thames Valley region of the
Federation of Small Businesses
supporting 7,500 local members
and helping them lobby on issues
that are of importance to small
businesses. www.fsb.org.uk
RobynBourne
SmallWorld
Lobby, lobby, lobby!