Bridgnorth business leaders call on government to help town's firms

Stephen Robbins wants to see action on energy price caps for businesses - particularly those in the hospitality sector which he says are facing 'major challenges' just to stay afloat.

He also called for a concerted effort to expand on the net zero strategy, to create more energy on a national level and not to have to rely on Russia for gas supplies.

He said: "What happens on a national level has an affect on businesses in our community, whether small or large, and they are struggling with potentially an 80-per-cent increase in bills in October which could put some of them out of business.

"Bridgnorth is lucky to be blessed with a great hospitality industry with a good variety of pubs, cafes, restaurants and places for people of the town and - crucially - people from outside to visit.

"But they need some help along the way, many work on very small margins and the increase in energy bills could be catastrophic for them.

"The leadership election seems to have dragged on for the last month or so and now the time for talking is over and action is needed to address issues both domestically and business wise outside of London."

Richard Sheehan, the chief executive of the Shropshire Chamber of Commerce echoed the thoughts of Mr Robbins, calling on government help with energy bills and also up skilling to help cope with the shortage of suitable applicants for the number of vacancies available in the county.

He said: "There is no doubt that our economy is on a knife edge right now. The highest ranking ‘fear factor’ is inflation, and there is also growing concern over the direction of interest rates – all of which impacts on business running costs.

"This, combined with the expected increase in energy bills and the number of vacancies being left unfilled are, as I see it, some of the top priorities for the new government to deal with."

MP Philip Dunne said whilst he did not support new PM Liz Truss in the leadership election, he would give her his full support from the back benches and try to ensure the needs and concerns of people in south Shropshire were addressed