I recently held the first meeting of a new Leicester West Business Forum, which I’ve set up to hear directly from businesses in my constituency about the challenges they face and the action they need to help them grow and thrive.

30 local businesses came along to the meeting, which took place at the Business Box in Braunstone. We had a very lively discussion focusing on bank lending, the need for public services to use the money they spend on supporting local businesses and the need to improve young people’s skills so that they are ‘work ready’ when they leave school.  I wrote about the Business Forum in my regular Mercury Column, which you can read here.