During a Senedd debate on the topic of Small Business Saturday, Vale of Clwyd Senedd Member, Gareth Davies, has urged the Welsh Government to take immediate steps to support small businesses, after visiting a wide range of local traders in North Wales as part of this year’s Small Business Saturday.
Prior to Small Business Saturday, Mr Davies met independent retailers across Mold, Prestatyn, and Rhyl, encouraging people to shop local, and speaking to business owners about the health of the local economy. While the national initiative has generated billions in spending and raised awareness of the importance of shopping local, he said the mood among business owners was generally low.
During the debate he highlighted rising taxes, rising costs, and growing concerns about the viability of small businesses going into 2026. He also drew attention to recent figures showing a sharp increase in company closures in early 2025, alongside what he described as punishing tax rises that have increased pressure on employers and weakened confidence across the economy.
He warned that Wales continues to face the highest unemployment rate in the UK, the lowest take-home pay, and a business environment strained by policies that add financial burden rather than relieve it. In particular, he raised alarm over the escalating crisis in the hospitality sector, which is facing steep increases in business rates over the coming years as a result of Welsh Government policy, and already sees a pub close every day.
Davies also reiterated long-standing concerns about the proposed tourism tax, saying the measure risks damaging one of North Wales’s strongest economic lifelines at a time when the sector is already grappling with significant regulatory and financial pressures. He said it is becoming clear that businesses across the North Wales region are reaching a tipping point and that bold changes are needed to restore stability, safeguard jobs, and revive high streets.
The Welsh Conservatives are calling for the scrapping of business rates for small firms, reversing planned inheritance tax changes affecting business owners, expanding free town centre parking, scrapping the visitor levy, and urging the Welsh Government to press the UK Government to reverse its National Insurance increases.
Commenting following the debate, Gareth Davies MS said:
“It was fantastic to visit, and celebrate, small traders across North Wales who make up the bulk of the Welsh economy, but the overwhelming mood amongst business owners about the health of our economy is very low.
“If we want thriving high streets and growing communities in North Wales, government at every level must stop piling on costs and start creating the conditions for small businesses to prosper.
“Scrapping business rates for small firms and axing the tourism tax are essential steps to help our local economy breathe again and protect the jobs and livelihoods so many families rely on.”