Letter published in Hackney Gazette, 20 August 2009

Dear sir/madam

A recent article in the Hackney Gazette drew attention to the fact that one in ten shops in Dalston now stand empty. This is hardly surprising when – unbelievably during a recession – the local Labour-run Hackney Council ever more zealously enforces shoppers’ car parking regulations, business taxes continue to go up and Gordon Brown’s government burdens local traders with more and more red tape, meaning Hackney’s wealth creators spend more time filling in forms than running their businesses.

Hackney Conservatives recently ran a campaign in support of Dalston’s local shops. In just two hours outside Dalston Kingsland station over 130 traders and shoppers signed a petition, calling for the Government to adopt Conservative policies aimed at making things easier for small businesses and their customers. Simple measures we are calling for include tax breaks for companies which create new jobs, reducing corporation tax from 22p to 20p, cutting National Insurance Contributions for small companies with less than five employees, a big, bold and simple National Loan Guarantee Scheme to help get credit flowing again and a two year Council Tax freeze, worth over £200 for the typical family, which helps everyone.

It is clear that Hackney Conservatives offer real change. We look forward to taking our positive campaign to the high streets of Hackney and explaining how our policies would bring benefits not only to the traders and shoppers of Dalston but other parts of the borough too.

Darren Caplan

Conservative parliamentary spokesman for Hackney North & Stoke Newington (pictured left)

Simon Nayyar

Conservative parliamentary spokesman for Hackney South & Shoreditch (pictured right)

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