New voice for small business lobbying

The Federation of Small Businesses has elected volunteer members to head up the group’s local grassroots lobbying activity in the West Midlands.

The results of FSB’s volunteer elections have now been announced, with Emma Heathcote-James elected to the position of Regional Chairman for the West Midlands. Emma lives in Stratford and is founder and owner of Little Soap Company, based in Broadway.

She said: “I’m delighted to have been elected to this key role and want to ensure that the voice of small businesses across the West Midlands is clearly heard.

“I look forward to working with our volunteers and staff to represent the interests of our diverse and vibrant population of members and small businesses to ensure we stay at the heart of the local debate and at the forefront of business policy decision-making.”

As well as the regional chairman role, volunteers have also been elected locally to be representatives on the FSB National Council and as area leaders.

Richard Asghar-Sandys from Coach Logistics was elected as the National Councillor and five additional volunteers have been elected as Area Leaders. This includes Sandra Garlick from Woman Who and IT Consultant Rich Bishop covering Coventry & Warwickshire, David Caro from Qualplast and Ian Preston from IJP Consultancy covering Staffordshire and the West Midlands and Jackie Horsewood from Wenlock Health and Safety covering Shropshire, Herefordshire & Worcestershire.

Mike Cherry, FSB national chairman, said: “We are very proud that, as a grassroots organisation, our local volunteers help shape local policy and decisions that have massive impact on small businesses. It’s these volunteers who are able to draw on their own experiences and be such a strong campaigning voice – locally and nationally.

“I want to congratulate Emma Heathcote-James on the election results. I know she will be a strong advocate for businesses across the West Midlands.        

“FSB was founded to enable grassroots activists to fight for change. As we look back over the last year, we can celebrate a number of significant wins for our members – £6.7 billion taken out of the business rates regime, the scrapping of NICs increases for the self-employed and reforms to Making Tax Digital – all sparked by our members being vocal at the local level.”  

Online voting for all local volunteers closed on December 3. Online elections for the national volunteer opportunities open on March 1.