South Scotland MSP Colin Smyth was out visiting local businesses across the South of Scotland on Saturday (1 December) to celebrate Small Business Saturday.

Small Business Saturday was launched in the UK in 2013. It falls on the busiest shopping day each year, the first Saturday of December and is designed to encourage customers to spend their money in independent, local businesses.

Colin Smyth MSP visited a number of local businesses to urge people to shop locally this Christmas- and all year round.

Colin Smyth said, “Small Business Saturday is a really good opportunity to showcase the fantastic array of small businesses we have locally. There are tens of thousands of businesses across south Scotland and almost 90% employ ten or fewer people, so it’s clear that small businesses are at the very heart of the local economy. It’s no exaggeration to say that when small businesses do well in our local economy does well. That’s why it is so important to support small businesses in this difficult economic climate, not least with the the impact of Brexit looming over all businesses.”

“Pound for pound shopping at small and local businesses is significantly better for our local economy than shopping online. It is better for jobs, our High Streets and helps retain as many shops as possible in our towns and villages. I would urge everyone across our region to shop locally not just this Christmas – but all year round- whenever they can and support our local businesses.”