Out on the campaign trail, I grabbed a delicious flat white from the famous Stokes Coffee House in Lincoln.
Stokes is a popular coffee roaster, enjoyed in cafes, pubs and restaurants around our constituency and county. It was a pleasure to meet Nick, who is the fourth generation of his family to own and run this business.
After a tour around Stokes’ museum and roasters, we discussed some of the challenges facing this family business, including high international prices for coffee beans, as well as Labour’s jobs tax, energy taxes and business rate hikes.
I hear it from food and hospitality businesses across the country: Labour’s high taxes and business costs are making it so much harder to run a business and employ people.
This is why two pubs a day have closed since Christmas, as well as countless restaurants and cafes and many other businesses are struggling to keep their heads above water.
The Conservatives want to back our local businesses by scrapping business rates entirely for businesses on our local high streets and axing the vindictive Family Business Tax.
It’s time to cut the costs of doing business and help our beloved high streets thrive.