Shivani Raja MP welcomed to the Fed’s East of England Trade Show

(Shivani Raja MP speaks at the Fed’s East of England Trade Show). 

Leicester East Member of Parliament, Shivani Raja, attended the Fed’s East of England trade show on September 10th and spoke of her support for small independent retailers in the East Midlands and around the country.

The trade show saw hundreds of Fed members and their business suppliers meet on the Holiday Inn on the edge of Leicester. Conservative MP Ms Raja has been working closely with the Fed since a large delegation of local members met with her in April and discussed a range of topics including retail crime, high business costs and rogue trade. Also attending was Leicester City Cllr, Devi Singh Patel, who East of England branch members have also been working closely with.

Thanking the Fed organisers, Ms Raja said the small businesses on display “…represented the backbone of our community and the heart of our community… and I will always be an advocate for our small businesses and independent businesses across the city and across the country.” Ms Raja also pledged to support forthcoming Fed campaign activity including its “Wave Goodbye to Community Crime” day.

(The Fed’s National President, Hemanshu Patel, and Eastern District members thanked Ms Raja and discussed the work the Fed was doing to give members a voice in Parliament. )

The Fed’s National President, Hemanshu Patel, who was also in attendance, thanked Ms Raja in response and said to members that the Fed “had been around since 1919, is a proud organisation and we are evolving, but we are seeing many challenges like retail crime, the Deposit Return Scheme for recycling (DRS) and illicit tobacco. However, we are representing you the members and asking MPs to represent us in Parliament”.

The event was organised by East of England District members led by its President, Jital Patel. District Vice President, Vidur Padya said after the event: “It was an extremely positive event. As well as thanking Ms Raja and Cllr Patel, the District also wanted to thank all our suppliers, including our lead sponsors PU Tech and Imperial Brands.”

Also commenting, Parth Patel, Deputy Vice President of the East of England branch said: “”It was great to welcome Shivani Raja MP and local councillors to the event. It’s important that our politicians meet independent retailers, hear directly about the challenges they face and understand the important role our members play in their communities. The DRS discussion was very important for members to learn more about…With the new sign-ups from the member2member initiative, the district continues to get stronger and younger.”