The Fed meets with Matt Turmaine MP in Hertfordshire

(Left to right: Raju Patel; Matt Turmaine MP; Doug Oliver, the Fed’s Political Engagement Coordinator)

The Fed met with Labour MP for Watford, Matt Turmaine, on Friday 24^ठ July and caught up on some of the challenges facing small independent retailers. The meeting was hosted by senior Fed member and former London District President, Raju Patel, who has operated the shop in Oxhey Village near Bushey since 1988 and was also attended by the Fed’s Political Engagement Coordinator, Doug Oliver.

During the discussion, the local MP, who was elected to Parliament two years ago in July 2024, heard about the changes Mr Patel had experienced in his nearly four decades serving his local community where he has become a familiar face and is often on first name terms with his customers. Mr Turmaine spoke about his experience of the area, having served as a Watford Councillor for over a decade.

Mr Patel and Mr Turmaine also discussed the range of convenience products Mr Patel served, including household and convenience goods and newspapers, including providing Home News Delivery. They discussed the Fed’s work on behalf of newspaper sellers, and Mr Turmaine heard about Mr Patel’s home news delivery service of local and national titles.  The Fed also discussed its work to support retailers with the roll-out of the Deposit Return Scheme for recycling bottles and cans when it launches in October 2027, as well as a range of local issues including road safety and highways issues. Mr Patel also spoke about occasional issues of retail crime, including a particularly serious break in incident in 2024 which led to £10,000 worth of damage and lost stock.

(Raju Patel and Matt Turmaine MP discuss retail crime security features, including mirrors at Mr Patel’s Business).

Mr Patel and Mr Oliver also explained the recent engagement it had had with incoming Labour Prime Minister, Andy Burnham MP, and the call the Fed’s National President, Hemanshu Patel, had made to ensure that the needs of independent retailers were heard by central Government. In particular, they mentioned Mr Burnham’s recent pledge to reform business rates to benefit businesses that people particularly value like small retailers, which the Fed had welcomed.

During the meeting, the Fed highlighted that it was important for the Government to do what it could to control rising business rate bills for independent retailers as well as pubs and live music venues who were recently the subject of a business rates cut. The Fed team said they acknowledged the fiscal challenge the new government faced but was calling on it to remember the social and economic value of small shops play when considering taxation that will impact small retail businesses.

Mr Patel said: “The time and interest that Mr Turmaine showed today was clearly sincere and I greatly appreciated the chance to speak with him. The Fed and I look forward to working with him on local and national issues and what more the government can do to control costs.”

Mr Turmaine said: “It was great to meet Raju and I was glad to learn about the contribution provided by a small shop like his and similar ones operated by Fed members across the UK – it was evident how well he knew his customers, and most of them seem to know him by name! I look forward to working with him and the Fed in Parliament to do what we can to help retailers deal with retail crime, cost challenges and helping them innovate for the future.”