The Federation of Small Businesses launched its manifesto on 12 February in the European Parliament, challenging current and would-be MEPs and the EU institutions to champion small businesses. When the new Parliament convenes, we want them to ‘Think Small First.’
Together with a small delegation of FSB members, we spent a whirlwind 24 hours in Brussels pressing MEPs, candidates and officials on our policy asks for the next parliamentary term. From breaking down barriers in the Single Market, to better quality regulation, seasoned small business owners brought to life the opportunities and challenges of trading in Europe.
Our cross-party launch was hosted by the well-respected UK MEP Malcolm Harbour, as Chair of the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee (IMCO). The room was packed with more than 60 MEPs, candidates and stakeholders, reflecting the FSB’s increasing influence in Brussels. All important EU institutions were represented – the Parliament, Commission, Council and Committee of the Regions. FSB Policy Chairman Mike Cherry set out our challenge, asking candidates to press the calls to action from our manifesto in their election campaigns.
The manifesto was very well-received with Malcolm Harbour calling it “a great read”. Across three broad themes, we have set out how to be the voice of small businesses:
- Giving small firms the best chance to be successful by creating a culture of entrepreneurship
- Lightening the load on small businesses, by ensuring regulation is proportionate and not a burden
- Helping small firms to thrive in new markets and ensuring EU trade deals support the growth aspirations of small firms
Mike Cherry, FSB Policy Chairman, said: “I was delighted with the appetite at the launch to engage with small businesses. The FSB is increasingly influential domestically, and now in Europe too. As the campaign heats up and MEPs take their seats in Parliament, we’ll be pressing them to keep small firms at the forefront of their minds.”
The manifesto and launch event was a crucial part of our pre-election public affairs strategy, launched early in the year to maximise our impact over the next 100 days. Our aim was to deliver a fair, impartial campaign which results in both an enhanced profile for the FSB by building positive relationships with MEP candidates and securing support for our policy objectives over the next term.
One week on, we are pleased with the early outcomes. The manifesto itself has received cross-party plaudits, as you can see on our Storify page, and we’ve received numerous requests for follow up meetings. Having launched relatively early gives ample opportunity for FSB members to meet with candidates and hold cross-party election events locally, so we build strong constituency links. As the first business organisation to publish our manifesto, we have really set the tone. Our clear policy calls will now influence the content of other people’s later work, as well as the political party manifestos themselves. We will monitor this and reinforce our messages to the right people at the right time.
Media coverage has focused on the EU press and we’ll be producing targeted opinion pieces. Our Twitter account has over 25,500 followers and that week @fsb_hq comments about the manifesto were our most clicked tweets. FSB related tweets with #EP2014 reached a potential audience of 421,988 people, with those under the #ThinkSmallFirst achieving a potential audience of 309,875.
There’s certainly a lot more to do, but we have made an excellent start before the election campaign begins. Our policy priorities are not just relevant to UK small businesses, so we’ll be working hard as the FSB and through our partner association, the European Small Business Alliance, to get the message out to MEPs from across Europe. Co-ordinating our activity with the FSB’s public affairs work in the UK has enabled us to increase our influence. Having our clear policy messages heard in Brussels, Westminster, the devolved nations and at regional level has meant the FSB’s political clout has increased. This will only get stronger over the coming year as the new Parliamentary intake settles in, and the new UK Commissioner and Commission President take office.
By Jayne Almond, Policy Advisor, and Sietske de Groot, Senior Policy Advisor.