Hundreds of small business owners descended on Westminster last week to call for MPs to 'keep trade local'.
The mass lobby of parliament, where small business owners met their local MPs, was organised by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB).
The FSB also launched a national petition to 'keep trade local', and aims to collect more than one million signatures.
A FSB spokesman said: "Small shops are struggling because of local, regional and national government policies, together with the failure of the competition authorities to deal with the aggressive policies of supermarkets. We are lobbying government to create a more level playing field for small businesses."