Posts Tagged ‘Business’
“Where Bedford leads, the rest of the country should follow”
Posted by admin | Filed under Bedford & Kempston, Business, Parliament
So said Bedford and Kempston MP, Richard Fuller, in Prime Minister’s Questions today, with the Prime Minister agreeing about Bedford’s “leadership in all things”.
Richard had raised the issue of encouraging new businesses and securing employment. He spoke of the example Bedford is setting by being the first area in the country to set up a Local Enterprise Fund, in which people who care about Bedford and Kempston have raised £400,000 to invest in businesses locally.
The Prime Minister showed support for the fund that Richard has spearheaded and said that we need to see more enterprise and more businesses starting.
Freeze beer tax – Richard Fuller MP delivers ‘message in a barrel’ to Chancellor
Posted by admin | Filed under Bedford & Kempston, Business, Economy, Parliament
Richard Fuller MP sends ‘message in a barrel’ to the Chancellor alongside beer and pub industry representatives – Feb 2013
Bedford and Kempston MP, Richard Fuller, has joined calls for a freeze in beer duty in the March Budget by sending a special ‘message in a barrel’ to the Chancellor at an event in Parliament.
The hand-crafted oak barrel, an iconic symbol of Britain’s world-renowned brewing and pub industry, is a reminder of how important brewing and pubs are to the Bedford and Kempston constituency, says Richard.
The barrel, with its calls for a freeze in beer duty, was later delivered to the Treasury by MPs and representatives of the British Beer & Pub Association, CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) and SIBA (Society of Independent Brewers).
Richard commented:
“I strongly support calls for a duty freeze, and I hope the Chancellor will listen. The brewing and pub industries are incredibly important to our town. The Charles Wells brewery was founded in 1876 in Bedford and is still going strong nearly 140 years later. Nearly 2,000 local people are employed by the industry and I do not want any further increases in duty to put any of these jobs in jeopardy.”
Brigid Simmonds Chief Executive of the British Beer & Pub Association, which organised the event, added:
“I want to thank Richard for championing beer and pubs in Bedford. Beer tax hikes are not raising more revenues for the Government, and with a duty freeze we can create many more local jobs.”
Fuller stands up for businesses
Posted by admin | Filed under Business, Economy, Parliament
During the recent debate on the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill, Richard called on the Government to do more to support business and to encourage job creation:
“Enterprise and regulatory reform, part of the title of the Bill, are words to bring succour to those who work in the engine room of the British economy — words that can take a thousand ideas for a new business, which have been discussed over a pint or sketched out on paper, and transform them into job-making, wealth-creating vehicles of growth.
“The anticipation for the Bill is almost tangible, but I fear that it will fall short of fulfilling the hopeful expectations. Where is the rolling back of the myriad fees and charges that are blithely imposed on businesses; where is the relief for shopkeepers from the sky-high rateable values set at the peak of Labour’s boom-cum-bust; and where is the implementation of our policy to roll back job-destroying EU regulation?
“The Bill’s proceedings should have started with a rallying call to our businesses that this Government are unambiguously on their side; a statement cherishing the principles of the free market as the most liberating force for social good; a determination to embrace, defend and expand the global free market that has lifted hundreds of millions of people from poverty, to which too many were consigned by the misguided socialist policies of the past; a rebuttal of the insidious assumption, which too often underlies Government intervention, that, left to their own devices, people who run their own business cannot be trusted. That assumption should be replaced by a presumption of trust that in starting and growing businesses, people are doing the essential work of a grateful nation, burdened by its debts and seeking the wealth to maintain its cherished public services.
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Technology businesses show Richard their latest innovations
Posted by admin | Filed under Business, Economy, Universities & Skills
Richard recently visited Cranfield University Technology Park to learn more about the leading innovative businesses based there and the technical advancements being made in the region.
Screenetics, Prolite and Cabair – all based at the Technology Park’s Innovation Centre – gave tours of their offices and explanations of their latest innovations to the MP, who also took part in a flight simulation provided by Cabair. The three businesses exemplify the type of organisation that is attracted to Cranfield University, which aims to encourage and facilitate the development of knowledge-based businesses.
Richard was impressed with what he saw, commenting:
“The businesses I visited compete in very different sectors but they share the same passion for entrepreneurship. We need to nurture that passion to create the next generation of businesses and jobs, and Cranfield University Technology Park has a critical role to play in making that happen.”
More Local Jobs: Attracting Business to Bedford
Posted by Richard | Filed under Bedford & Kempston, Business, Economy
Jim Lawrence, Chief Financial Officer of Unilever PLC, was my guest at the inaugural meeting of Bedford Futures Business Club. Unilever is a major local employer and I toured their Colworth facility learning about Unilever’s new conference centre and their advances in ice cream technology!
Welcoming Jim Lawrence, Chief Financial Officer, Unilever PLC at the Embankment Hotel, Bedford
Jim spoke about Unilever’s recession beating strategies and expressed support for my campaigns to strengthen Bedford as a business location.
