Southend West by-election: What local businesses want from a new MP
The election takes place this Thursday
Ahead of the Southend West by-election, taking place on Thursday 3rd February, we've been finding out what local businesses in the constituency want from their new MP.
The new MP will be taking over the seat of Sir David Amess, who was killed whilst at his constituency surgery at Belfairs Methodist Church Hall in October last year.
He'd been the local MP since 1997.
Sandra Bennet owns Fives Records in Leigh on Sea, and wants the new MP to get more people back on the high street:
"There's just nobody out there, so they need to sort out empty shops - lower taxes, whatever, just get people back in the high street because it's empty. It's not just Covid, before that it was quiet. Rent is too high, council tax is too high."
This comes as a new report by the Centre for Cities shows a quarter of town centre shops in Southend are currently empty.
It also found that Southend has the seventh highest proportion of empty town or city centre shop units in the country.
Gemma Deeny owns The Refill Room in Leigh on Sea. She wants the new MP to offer more support for small businesses:
"We'd like somebody who cares, who supports local businesses. Maybe someone who could help reduce business rates, costs for bins - we pay out an awful lot as small businesses, so any help there would be great."
Philip Miller MBE owns Adventure Island and Sealife Adventure, both found on Southend seafront.
He wants the next MP to work closely with local businesses:
"They should carry on the good work that Sir David Amess did... encourage local businesses and local business men. I think the MP's always been good to us here."
Murray Foster is Chair of the Southend Business Partnership, a network of over 600 businesses across Southend.
He says local business want an MP who communicates with them:
"I think what they would like to see from an MP is them recognising that some business developments and new initiatives. do need support. I would be encouraging the new MP to engage as positively as they can."
He also says they must help London Southend Airport recover from the pandemic:
"We need to make sure that it has an opportunity to come back on stream, because the air industry has been greatly affected by COVID, and London Southend Airport needs to be able to get back to where they were before."
For a list of all the candidates, click here.