50th anniversary of the Federation of Small Businesses

That this House congratulates the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), formerly known as the National Federation of Self Employed (NFSE) on its 50th birthday; remembers that in 1974, one small business owner, Captain Norman Small, wrote to the press to begin a small business movement; recalls that Small invited small business owners to attend a meeting in his hometown of Lytham St Annes and, at that meeting, he put forward the idea of an organisation designed to promote the voice of the self-employed; further remembers that similar meetings in other parts of the country followed and that within nine months the NFSE had a membership of 25,000 with 200 new members joining every day; acknowledges that 50 years later FSB is the UK’s largest membership organisation for small businesses and the self-employed; and reflects on the range of day-to-day business tools, local support networks, and member-only savings provided today by FSB, and looks forward to the next 50 years of FSB.