FSB

Simon Muir · 16-10-2006, 11:28 AM

My FSB newsletter dropped on the mat this morning. More stuff on silly EU directives, and reports of FSB attendance at the party conferences.

Guess who wasn't mentioned (Clues: the pictures were of the FSB at the Dim Libs, and elsewhere of a Tory MEP denouncing the directives). It looks like UKIP has allowed the FSB to be bought off by the EU (grumble by all means, but heaven forfend it should work with a party that wants out!).

Now the FSB should be neutral, and the skill is to get alongside it without it feeling threatened. Clearly the other parties are managing this, despite seriously anti-small-business agendas (especially the Dim Libs, who are frightful in this regard).

Q: Where should posters be put at election time?
A: In the small shopkeepers' windows on the High st.!

Q: Who has the potential to influence on a daily basis, allow leaflets to be laid out for customers to take, etc.?
A: Small shopkeepers - the constituency of the FSB!

Q: Which lobby group is always in the media about EU regulations destroying our way of life?
A: Guess!

So UKIP, what pathetic excuse will you come up with this time, and why aren't your MEPs sticking to the FSB like glue? You should be in EVERY FSB edition, and find excuses to cover FSB events, and contact/recruit FSB members, etc.

Lost the plot again, haven't we?

harryaldridge · 16-10-2006, 11:55 AM

Oh what it must be like to have a high horse

I think you will find that those in Brussels are working awy at the FSB. From what i hear the FSB representative sin Brussels are very Eurosceptic, but they still feel they need a brussels office to 'influence' and be 'consulted'. They are of a similar mind to UKIP, they know all too well the burden of EU nonsense on small businesses. The tricky task is coaxing them across the line to our side.

Leaving the EU is still not seen, among certain circles, as a credible stance. The FSBs view is "well we aren;t going to leave anytime soon so we have to be at the centre of policy making". This is a sensible viw for an organisation who should be impartial and stand up for businesses. It is not their place to campaign for us to leave, but it is their place to shout about the problems.

Our task is to work with them to build a big enough and wide enough base that will make leaving the EU a credible position to take.

Soddball · 16-10-2006, 05:31 PM

The FSB's never achieved anything as far as I can see. Waste of time, the politicians ignore it, the public ignore it, and most businesses ignore it.

eublues · 16-10-2006, 07:08 PM

I read somewhere (on here? Richard North?) that the FSB has gone native with a new person now in post handling EU issues, and aim now is just to make the EU work a bit better.

While on this matter: Excellent report on Today programme this morning about Open Europe large scale survey finding vast majority of businesses now say that the benefits to them of the 'single market' are now outweighed by the disadvantages of EU regulation.

Here's a link:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6054300.stm

16-10-2006, 11:28 AM	#1 (permalink)
Simon Muir Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Bristol Posts: 166	FSB - UKIP loses the plot (agane) My FSB newsletter dropped on the mat this morning. More stuff on silly EU directives, and reports of FSB attendance at the party conferences. Guess who wasn't mentioned (Clues: the pictures were of the FSB at the Dim Libs, and elsewhere of a Tory MEP denouncing the directives). It looks like UKIP has allowed the FSB to be bought off by the EU (grumble by all means, but heaven forfend it should work with a party that wants out!). Now the FSB should be neutral, and the skill is to get alongside it without it feeling threatened. Clearly the other parties are managing this, despite seriously anti-small-business agendas (especially the Dim Libs, who are frightful in this regard). Q: Where should posters be put at election time? A: In the small shopkeepers' windows on the High st.! Q: Who has the potential to influence on a daily basis, allow leaflets to be laid out for customers to take, etc.? A: Small shopkeepers - the constituency of the FSB! Q: Which lobby group is always in the media about EU regulations destroying our way of life? A: Guess! So UKIP, what pathetic excuse will you come up with this time, and why aren't your MEPs sticking to the FSB like glue? You should be in EVERY FSB edition, and find excuses to cover FSB events, and contact/recruit FSB members, etc. Lost the plot again, haven't we?

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16-10-2006, 11:55 AM	#2 (permalink)
harryaldridge Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: West Sussex Posts: 1,912	Oh what it must be like to have a high horse I think you will find that those in Brussels are working awy at the FSB. From what i hear the FSB representative sin Brussels are very Eurosceptic, but they still feel they need a brussels office to 'influence' and be 'consulted'. They are of a similar mind to UKIP, they know all too well the burden of EU nonsense on small businesses. The tricky task is coaxing them across the line to our side. Leaving the EU is still not seen, among certain circles, as a credible stance. The FSBs view is "well we aren;t going to leave anytime soon so we have to be at the centre of policy making". This is a sensible viw for an organisation who should be impartial and stand up for businesses. It is not their place to campaign for us to leave, but it is their place to shout about the problems. Our task is to work with them to build a big enough and wide enough base that will make leaving the EU a credible position to take.

16-10-2006, 05:31 PM	#3 (permalink)
Soddball Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 272	The FSB's never achieved anything as far as I can see. Waste of time, the politicians ignore it, the public ignore it, and most businesses ignore it.

16-10-2006, 07:08 PM	#4 (permalink)
eublues Uber Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 3,122	I read somewhere (on here? Richard North?) that the FSB has gone native with a new person now in post handling EU issues, and aim now is just to make the EU work a bit better. While on this matter: Excellent report on Today programme this morning about Open Europe large scale survey finding vast majority of businesses now say that the benefits to them of the 'single market' are now outweighed by the disadvantages of EU regulation. Here's a link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6054300.stm