Mother and son store team and Federation of Independent Retailers (the Fed) members, Amy Sohal and Pinny Singh met with mid-Cheshire Labour MP, Andrew Cooper, in Winsford on Friday (9 January).
At the meeting, they discussed their experiences of trading over the Christmas period as well as the challenges facing independent convenience retailers in 2026.
The family has run Ken’s Convenience Store for more than two decades and Amy and her team are familiar figures in their community. In addition, she is currently president of the Fed’s West Midlands district.
During the meeting - also attended by the Fed’s political engagement coordinator, Doug Oliver, the retailers raised concerns over higher costs including elevated energy bills and higher National Insurance Contributions, as well as discussing the implementation of the recently passed Employment Rights Bill. They promised to share further information about these matters with the MP in future.
The introduction of the deposit return scheme (DRS) for recycling, which commences next year, was also discussed.
The Government was praised for its work on tackling retail crime and the Fed advised Cooper of a recent meeting that senior Fed officials had with crime and policing minister, Sarah Jones MP.
Cooper said: “I’ve visited the shop before but it was great to meet with Amy and Pinny again and discuss the work she does as the local district president of the Fed and learn more about the challenges and opportunities facing small shops like hers around the UK.
“My constituency office is located in Winsford and I know how valuable the shop is as a service for local people. We were able to discuss how Christmas trading was this year and the challenges of 2026.”
Amy added: “It was great to speak with Andrew again and he listened closely to my comments about what was going well in the business, as well as to the concerns I raised.”
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