Conservatives at Herts County Council have refused to back Herts businesses affected by Covid closures and to help businesses recover from the impacts of the pandemic. Liberal Democrat councillors had proposed that the council should tell the government that more support for businesses was needed alongside timely, evidence based and effective action to tackle the pandemic.

In September the Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership told the council that they expected the pandemic to result in the economy of Hertfordshire shrinking by £5 billion with the loss of 60,000 jobs – but that was before the second wave saw increasing restrictions.

Getting the government to provide more help for the businesses affected and for those businesses which will provide new jobs when we eventually emerge from the pandemic is vital to protect people’s livelihoods. The Conservatives used to be called the party of business, yet we run the risk that the only smiling business people will be insolvency practitioners.