Buy Newbury, Back Britain

This week, Donald Trump announced new tariffs on UK exports—10% on most goods, and 25% on automotive exports. For many local businesses here in Newbury, that’s yet another blow in an already tough economic climate.

From family-run farms, restaurants and shops to small manufacturers and tech exporters, our constituency is packed with brilliant businesses that keep our local economy moving. But they’re facing rising costs, unfair tax burdens, and now, international trade chaos.

That’s why I’m launching Buy Newbury, Back Britain—a local campaign to encourage everyone to support the fantastic independent shops, producers, and services right here on our doorstep.

This is not just about catchy slogans. It’s about real action that we can take as a community—choosing local where we can, backing our high streets, and supporting the jobs and people that keep Newbury thriving.

But this can’t just be left to us. The Government needs to step up too—by scrapping the jobs tax coming in this month and overhauling business rates to give small firms a fair deal.

We need action to protect not just our shops and producers, but our farmers too. We can’t afford another trade deal that leaves British agriculture exposed. We’ve already seen the damage from the Australia and New Zealand deals.

We deserve a local economy that works for us—and I’ll keep pushing for exactly that.