The Government yesterday announced that they have appointed a Small Business Commissioner to champion the voice of small businesses. The person they have appointed is Paul Uppal who served as Conservative MP for Wolverhampton South West from 2010 to 2015. He is connected with a business called Pinehurst Securities. As the page on the Government website which announced the appointment states, Mr Uppal is a father-of-three from Birmingham and his priorities will reflect his 20-year experience as a small business owner in the real estate sector, where he saw how even sound businesses could struggle when faced with a culture of late payment by customers.

The website goes on to explain that the appointment marks an important step toward ensuring small businesses have the support they need to thrive and grow – a central tenet of the Government’s Industrial Strategy. As Commissioner, Mr Uppal will lead an independent office tasked with empowering small businesses. The role will be crucial to supporting small businesses resolve disputes with larger businesses and will help drive a culture change in payment practices. Mr Uppal and his team will provide general advice and information to small businesses on matters such as resolving disputes, including signposting small businesses to existing support and dispute resolution services, which will be delivered through the commissioner’s website.

It seems vital that Mr Uppal who explained to Parliament that he ran his business from home as part of a stay at home parental role, either explains a bit more about his business background or else ensures that he surrounds himself with people whose business experience is more wide ranging. Small businesses in the UK do need a strong voice to be heard in this Government and indeed future Governments, in part to counter the dominance of large business that have a tendency to bribe political parties to get their voices listened to. Small businesses lack the resources and thankfully are often morally unwilling to do so. Let us hope Mr Uppal will stand up against the likes of his former colleagues as they attempt to make decisions without any meaningful consultation of businesses or communities.