OWNERS of small businesses in Swindon say they want action rather than words to improve their chances of survival.

The Shadow Attorney General and well-known human rights campaigner Shami Chakrabarti was in town talking to small businesses to see how the Labour party can help them.

Baroness Chakrabarti visited the town centre to speak with local businesses and listen to them before sitting down with entrepreneurs, business owners and the mayor at Darkroom Espresso.

The owner of the coffee shop highlighted that if things carry on the way they are he may be forced into closing the venue.

Will Davies said: “This is always in the back of your mind, even though we are doing really well we are at the scale where because we are making enough that we attract VAT but the costs of running the place is quite difficult.”

Ms Chakrabarti said: “It makes me angry to see this is how small businesses feel and that there is always the possibility that a well-run company could potentially shut down due to rates and online shopping.

“Small businesses are the lifeblood of communities and they put back in, whereas the massive corporate run businesses have been more and more extracting wealth without either paying their fair share of tax or paying decent wages. I have been angered but often inspired on my short trip to Swindon. I have heard some interesting ideas from people and there were lots of positive ideas from community leaders.

“Business rates are crushing the high street and there needs to be state intervention.”

The political party thinks it will take a combination of things to get people to not always order online, as they don’t think it will ever completely stop as there are just some things that shoppers will need to buy online.

Despite the dominance of online shopping, there are things that people will want to visit town centres for because people are social creatures, she said.

Ms Chakrabarti added: “I don’t want families and communities to isolate themselves. It requires support and investment and not letting mayhem reign. The corporates changed the whole business model and the government done nothing to support small businesses.”

Mayor Junab Ali said: “The meeting seems to have went well, Ms Chakrabarti, seems to understand and listen but as I mentioned I have seen governments come and go. They have come and listened but not put anything into action, it is important that government advisors are working class people who has run a small business.”