Vincent Cable MP, Lib Dem Shadow Chancellor, on a fact-finding tour of the county, joined Justine McGuinness in West Dorset yesterday (Tuesday 15 February) and heard that some local business people even have to take second full-time jobs to keep their hig Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor Vincent Cable, promised swift action if his party takes power in the next few months.

He announced that the Liberal Democrats would restructure Business Rates.

Justine McGuinness explained why Mr Cable had visited: “The Liberal Democrats are the party of small businesses. I asked Vincent Cable to come to West Dorset today to meet local business people and hear first hand the issues that impact on their businesses. Certainly talking to people today I know our proposals to restructure Business Rates are welcomed.”

Henry Stark, owner of Dorchester’s Get On Board surfing and lifestyle clothing store, told them that while he made a small profit, there was no way the shop could foot its wages bill without the full-time job he had to take to make ends meet: “My profit goes back into buying more stock,” he told the politicians. “Yet I still have to pay tax on it before I can do that.”

At nearby Potter’s Cafe, Lynne Trulocke told Cable and McGuinness that while there was no VAT on food, she had to pay the tax on her sales and had no way of claiming it back: “It just seems completely unfair to me,” she commented.

Mr Cable told her that Liberal Democrats were urgently examining ways of easing the tax burden on small businesses:

“Business rates should be restructured so that they relate to the ability to pay,” he said. “Big stores would pay more and smaller shops less. It’s not anti big business because we need big business, but the playing field should be levelled out.

“We’re also looking at a scheme to give small companies a tax credit to enable them to cover the costs of complying with government regulations. In a small business with ten employees or fewer - and there are a lot of those in West Dorset - that could make a big difference.”

On their whistle-stop tour Ms McGuinness and Mr Cable also visited the Freshwater Beach Holiday Park at Burton Bradstock where they met Scott Condliffe who runs the park, which is a family business. Here they heard a familiar West Dorset story of an employer keen to take on local people but frustrated by the huge cost of housing on the Jurassic Coast. The people he needs, particularly younger staff, cannot afford to live in the area: “You’d think it would be quite easy to get a cook,” he said. “But without offering accommodation, we are really struggling to find one.”