FPB glances back, and looks forward to 2008 and beyond

The year started somewhat surreally. Despite its ordinarily tropical climate, snow fell in Miami, Florida, for the only time in its history. Later in January, Jimmy Carter succeeded Gerald Ford as the 39th President of the United States. He immediately pardoned Vietnam War draft evaders.

In 1977, Elvis Presley, Marc Bolan and Bing Crosby died. Journalist Steve Biko was killed after suffering massive head injuries whilst in police custody in South Africa. On 26 October 2007, the last smallpox case was discovered in the Mercia district of Somalia. The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) consider the date to mark the eradication of smallpox, and the most spectacular success of vaccination ever.

Pelé, arguably the world's greatest-ever footballer, played his last professional game as a member of the New York Cosmos. The Egyptian President Anwar Sadat became the first Arab leader to officially visit Israel, meeting with its Prime Minister, Menachem Begin, in order to discuss a peace settlement.

In Canada, a 20.2kg lobster was caught off the coast of Nova Scotia, and is still the heaviest-known crustacean. A signal, apparently sent from deep space, was received by astrologers at Ohio State University's Big Ear radio telescope. It was named the ‘WOW' signal, after a notation made by a volunteer on a paper copy of it. Earlier in the year, Star Wars had opened in cinemas across the world, becoming the then highest grossing film of all time.

Back in the UK, amid the jubilee celebrations marking 25 years of Queen Elizabeth II's reign, Punk began in earnest. The Sex Pistols, who had been sacked by their record company, EMI, released their only album, Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols. The Clash's eponymous debut album was released. In April, Hay-on-Wye declared its independence from the rest of the UK.

Even though New York experienced a 24-hour blackout, which resulted in widespread looting and disorder across the city, there were a number of technological advances in 1977. The first ATM (automated teller machine) was installed in Australia, and Apple shipped its first Apple II computer. The Apple II PC came in colour, and replaced cassette tapes with floppy disks. For the first time, fibre-optic cables carried live telephone traffic, and British Airways launched the first regular London-to-New-York supersonic Concorde service. The European Patent Institute was founded, allowing budding entrepreneurs to better safeguard their inventions.

And, of course, the FPB was founded. Now representing around 25,000 small and medium-sized businesses in the UK, which employ more than 600,000 people, the FPB has become an invaluable organisation assisting its members' aims of being treated fairly and achieving profitable growth. There have been some notable successes for the member-led organisation. Just three years after its launch, competition law was introduced in the UK. In 1982, the FPB's quarterly ballot of members, Referendum, was instrumental in convincing the Government to address the issue of sick pay (this year, the FPB prevented small firms' Statutory Sick Pay relief from being scrapped).

In the 1980s, the FPB's lobbying resulted in the Government's White Paper ‘Burdens in Business', which in turn led to the Department of Employment simplifying its terms and conditions of employment, thereby saving businesses time and money. The FPB was also instrumental in the introduction of a maximum annual increase in business rates, with smaller firms paying 5% less than bigger businesses.

In the 1990s, evidence supplied by the FPB sparked an inquiry into banks' relationships with smaller businesses, and the then Prime Minister, John Major, praised the ‘immense value' of its research. A meeting with police chiefs raised their awareness of the effect of crime on smaller businesses, and, following lobbying by the FPB, the Government reviewed the Uniform Business Rate (UBR) to reduce its impact on smaller firms. In 1997, the then new Prime Minister, Tony Blair, called the FPB a ‘key representative organisation' between government and business. In 1998, after 15 years of campaigning for an effective redress against late payers, the Government introduced a statutory right to charge interest via the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act. The following year, the main banks were heavily criticised for overcharging smaller businesses an estimated £0.5 billion after an investigation led by Don Cruickshank, which relied on evidence supplied by the FPB.

Into the new millennium, the FPB has continued to fight for the interests of its members. It has also supported them through difficult periods, such as the Foot and Mouth Disease crisis of 2001 and attempts by the European Commission to introduce wholesale amendments to the Working Time Directive. The FPB's activities have also broadened, with the first-ever Small Firms' Summit in 2006 proving to be a resounding success; one that has been repeated this year.

The FPB's National Chairman, Len Collinson, said that while the organisation can be pleased with what it has achieved over the last 30 years, more needs to be done to aid smaller businesses – including the removal of much of the red tape that prevents them from competing effectively.

"Campaigning against excessive regulation is like fighting the hydra: every time we lop one head off, three more spring up," said Mr Collinson. "As we look forward to addressing the needs of private business in the next thirty years, I remain as convinced as ever that the FPB must stand as a champion of free enterprise. It is with the collective efforts of those individuals who have the courage to face the risks associated with establishing and sustaining business that the wealth, prosperity and diversity of the country rest. In supporting these risk-takers, the FPB fills an essential niche."