West Worcestershire MP Harriett Baldwin started her Christmas shopping early this week with a visit to Pershore town centre. The MP took a tour of local shops to show her support for small independent traders. The trip aims to promote Small Business Saturday which is a national initiative to encourage people to shop in their local stores. Harriett visited Persora, a new gift store and gallery based on the High Street in Pershore. The store has undergone extensive refurbishment and now offer an extensive range of high quality homeware, jewellery and gifts. Harriett said: “I always enjoy shopping in Pershore and Persora is a great new addition to the local businesses. “Small Business Saturday is an important national initiative and I encourage local people to make an effort to get out onto their local high street and show support for small traders. “There’s also a really good loyalty card scheme for Pershore shoppers and shops like Three Little Pigs and Blue have done a great job encouraging more people into the town. “Shops like Persora make a huge contribution to our local economy and our long term economic success depends on making sure that we create the right conditions for these businesses to thrive. “I will be shopping local this Christmas and I hope that people across West Worcestershire do the same.” Photo: Sasha Hyde helps Harriett Baldwin MP with her shopping at Persora in Pershore.