THE Federation of Small Businesses has handed over its national 55,000-signature Keep Trade Local (KTL) petition to Number 10 Downing Street. Keep Trade Local kicked off last year to raise awareness about the need to safeguard shops and the communities th

THE Federation of Small Businesses has handed over its national 55,000-signature Keep Trade Local (KTL) petition to Number 10 Downing Street.

Keep Trade Local kicked off last year to raise awareness about the need to safeguard shops and the communities they sustain. With over 120 small businesses closing a day and in such difficult economic times, the campaign has been an invaluable, solution-offering safeguard for local suppliers, the FSB said.

The campaign has also been taken to the House of Commons in an event highlighting the ways local government can help small businesses thrive, not least during a recession. It included photographs by Maxine Beuret from an exhibition entitled 'A Nation of Small Shopkeepers' that illustrates the importance of small businesses to their local communities.

FSB Huntingdonshire Chairman Malcolm Lyons said: "Small businesses have been suffering from Post Office closures, late payers, planning delays, hidden business crime and a tenuous relationship with the banks. At the same time, we have been hit by a recession that is killing over 120 small firms a day nationally.

"The Keep Trade Local national petition may have come to a close, but that does not mean small businesses do not need help any more. The onus lies above all on local government to create conditions where our small firms and high streets can thrive.