The Greens unveiled a charter for small businesses ahead of Thursday's general election, which includes support for the cooperative and mutual economy, including regional mutual banks that will be capitalised by a new Cooperative Development Fund.
The Small Business Green Charter says its aim is to help small businesses and downtown areas “thrive in the green economy of the future”.
Ellie Chowns, the party's regional spokesperson and MP candidate for North Herefordshire, described small businesses as “the lifeblood of our economy and communities”, adding that “the best and most successful small businesses are rooted in our local economies and support their local communities”.
In a pledge to support small businesses, the Greens say MPs elected on July 4 will push for government funding to encourage more community ownership as part of the transition to a zero-carbon economy.
“In the transition to a zero-carbon economy, greater access to government funding can promote community ownership. We want to change markets where market power can lead to exploitation of customers, suppliers and workers,” the charter states.
The party's plan for food and farming also mentions cooperatives, which aim to “rebalance the balance of power between big food manufacturers and local alternatives such as local food networks, community supported agriculture and other cooperatives.”
Part of these plans includes implementing a Fairer Agriculture Charter, which would give more control to small and family farmers.
The Green Party's proposed decarbonisation scheme also includes moves towards cooperation, offering £2 billion a year in grants to local authorities to deliver it, and seeking legal mechanisms for companies to become mutuals, particularly when they change ownership.
“Our new generation of Greens MPs will be pressuring Parliament to remove all legal barriers to businesses wanting to convert to mutual organisations, particularly at the point of ownership succession,” Chones said.
The activities set out in the Charter will be supported by a network of regional mutual banks that will support investment in small businesses, locally owned enterprises and cooperatives.
The banks will be supported by the Co-operative Development Fund, using some of the funding provided through the UK Infrastructure Bank and an additional 10 billion pounds of public funding, Chones said.
The Charter also includes VAT and business tax reductions for small and medium-sized enterprises, and the introduction of a prompt payment code.
The party also wants to provide free school meals every day, build 150,000 council homes a year, increase annual public funding for rail and bus transport to £10 billion and rejoin the UK's single market as a first step towards full EU membership.
“We know that current efforts to protect our high streets and support local businesses are failing, and too many people across the country have no access to vital resources like their local bank or pharmacy at all,” Chones said.
“We want to change the existing market structure, where market power can lead to exploitation of customers, suppliers and workers. Markets must work to support a just transition to a zero-carbon economy.”