Small firms ‘ won’t survive winter’

HUNDREDS of thousands of small firms might not be in business by the spring, according to research by the Labour Party.

An analysis of official data by the Opposition suggests an estimated 390,000 small businesses are worried they will not survive the next three months. Labour said more than 520,000 small businesses have seen turnover plummet by more than half, even before the second national lockdown was imposed in England.

It added around a million small businesses do not have cash reserves to last beyond three months.