South West Norfolk MP encourages residents to support small local businesses this Christmas - as he recommends visit to Shouldham’s King’s Arms pub

In his fortnightly column, South West Norfolk MP Terry Jermy discusses supporting local businesses this festive period…

I was delighted to be in Downham Market last Sunday, supporting the annual Christmas lights switch-on event.

Credit to the town council for persevering despite difficult weather conditions.

It was brilliant to see so many people in attendance, enjoying the fantastic performances from local school children and others.

I was pleased to be able to get a few more presents ticked off my Christmas list as I took the opportunity to browse the various stalls at the event.

As we move towards December, may I take this opportunity to encourage readers to ‘shop local’ whenever possible with your own Christmas shopping.

This is an important time of the year for our small traders, and they very much rely on our support.

As part of this, I am looking forward to taking part in Small Business Saturday on Saturday, December 7 and I’ll be visiting a number of small businesses across South West Norfolk.

In other news, I completed my most recent constituency surgery in Marham during November and I am looking forward to the next surgery, taking place in Swaffham on Saturday, December 14.

My team and I will be on hand to respond to any queries or questions, and I encourage people to get in touch to make an appointment if there is something that we can assist with.

We’re particularly encouraging people to check their eligibility for pension credit as the important deadline of December 21 approaches.

This is the last date for making a backdated claim for Pension Credit, in order to receive the Winter Fuel Payment in 2024/25.

Whilst in Marham I caught up with borough and county councillor Jim Moriarty – I’ve been meeting a number of councillors and parish councillors to discuss local issues of concern and how myself or my team may be able to assist.

It was great to hear from Jim about the work being undertaken by West Norfolk Council.

I’ve also been out to Shouldham recently to meet with Parish Councillors and residents to talk about concerns relating to flooding.

This was the topic of a Westminster Hall debate recently, during which I took the opportunity to highlight the great work of the Welney Flood Watch volunteers! During the flooding debate, I called for greater powers and funding for local Councils to prevent flooding incidents which are of increasing in frequency and severity.

My visit to Shouldham provided a chance to stop at the King’s Arms – a fantastic community-owned pub which I can thoroughly recommend a visit to.

So, when you’ve completed all of that local Christmas shopping, why not pop into the local pub too and support them?