Conservatives are failing business after alarming record breaking Sedgemoor closure rate revealed

Claire Sully, the Liberal Democrat candidate for the new Bridgwater constituency, believes the Conservatives are no longer the party of business with recent figures showing business closure rates in the UK to be at their highest since 1990.

Research released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) collating UK business deaths in 2023 has revealed that more than 330,000 businesses were forced to close their doors last year.

Alarmingly, research conducted by Utility Bidder UK has revealed Sedgemoor, with Bridgwater at its heart, to be among the areas where the Conservatives have failed most in the UK, with our region suffering a 92.9% increase in business deaths when compared to 2018, the third highest in the whole of the country.

As the Conservatives dragged the UK into recession in the final quarter of last year (after long-term flat-line economic growth), analysis from the Financial Times following data released by the ONS in November 2023 revealed the number of business closures in the UK outnumbered the creation of new businesses for the first time since 2010.

“What is clear is that the Conservative Party is bad for business,” Claire Sully said.

“The alarming rates at which businesses are being forced to close demonstrate that the Conservatives are, in particular, bad for business in Bridgwater, Burnham and across Sedgemoor.

“The Conservatives have damaged business confidence, failed to support the high street by retaining the rating system and imposed unfair tax hikes on small business, while borrowing rates have soared following a mismanagement of the economy.

“Bridgwater deserves better and the Liberal Democrats are on the side of business.”

Article resource links:

Business death rates 2023 – Feb 2024
https://www.utilitybidder.co.uk/blog/closing-the-high-street/

Financial Times analysis – Nov 2023
https://www.ft.com/content/a5b24689-c01e-477c-a894-55ba3cc8ec42