Harriett Baldwin, Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for West Worcestershire will start the first working week of the New Year with a programme of visits to a range of employers in the area. On January 4th and 5th 2010, she will visit businesses in a range of industries – manufacturing, electrical contracting, a fast food restaurant, telecommunications and mineral water, all located in or near Malvern. Harriett Baldwin said, “I am very interested to visit this wide range of businesses to hear about their outlook for 2010; how they coped in 2009, whether they have plans to hire and whether they are getting the credit they need from their banks. It will be the private sector that helps Britain get out of recession and creates jobs. I would like to listen to their views on what should government be doing more of or less of to make the biggest difference.” The Conservatives have set out a set of policies for small businesses:

• Reverse Labour’s increase in small company corporation tax, from 22p back to 20p.
• Simplify the tax system for small business
• Any new regulation must include cuts in old laws
• All regulations should include a “sunset” clause
• Introduce a “Work for Yourself” programme to help people become self-employed
• Abolish tax on new jobs created in the first two years of a Conservative government
• Make small business rate relief automatic