Small Business Saturday 2025 lands today, Saturday 6 December, and the North’s high streets are ready for it. From Stockton and Sunderland to Salford and Skipton, the ask is simple: pick a local shop first.

Ministers are calling on people to get out together and shop local as the government rolls out its Backing Your Business push. “This Small Business Saturday is a great chance to get out to your local high streets and support small businesses,” said Business Secretary Peter Kyle. The appeal is squarely aimed at sole traders, family firms and high street independents this month.

Behind the call sit some hard numbers. The UK now has around 5.7 million businesses; SMEs account for 60% of employment and about £2.8 trillion in turnover. That’s the economic bedrock for towns and cities across the North - whether it’s a maker in Calderdale, a food producer in North Yorkshire or an indie retailer on Tyneside.

Shoppers could shift the dial. New campaign data points to a potential £5.3 billion flowing to small firms during the festive period - a 19% rise on last year - with roughly 22% of seasonal spending expected to go to independents.

When people do buy small, they gravitate towards cafés, independent restaurants and takeaways, bakeries, pubs and hairdressers - the sort of businesses that bring footfall to places like Leeds’ Corn Exchange, Sheffield’s Sharrow Vale and Durham’s old streets.

Policy is moving too. The government’s Small Business Plan promises the toughest late‑payment reforms in 25 years, with new powers for the Small Business Commissioner and legally enforceable standards intended to stop big buyers stringing suppliers along.

Further detail under discussion would cap standard terms at 45 days after a transition from 60, require audit committees to oversee supplier payments and allow penalties for serial offenders, according to the Financial Times’ reporting.

Practical help is being taken on tour. The new Business Growth Service - billed as a single front door for advice and finance - kicked off a roadshow in Newcastle last month, bringing national and regional schemes into one room for time‑pressed owners.

On finance, the British Business Bank has been handed more than £4.5 billion to extend and expand schemes, including an extension of the Growth Guarantee Scheme to April 2030 - useful for viable firms needing working capital to invest or take on staff.

The campaign has been flagging firms well beyond the capital. Ministers have spotlighted Stoke’s animation studio Carse & Waterman and Glasgow favourite Jeavons Toffee in the build‑up - a reminder that creativity and retail craft live across the UK.

Small Business Saturday UK’s director Michelle Ovens kept it simple: “Public support can make all the difference.” Her advice is to seek out a favourite independent today - and then keep them in mind in January.

For Northern readers, today’s plan writes itself: buy gifts from a local maker, book a cut with a neighbourhood barber, have lunch in an independent café, and try the markets before the malls. Ten minutes’ detour and a few quid spent locally adds up when thousands of us do it.

Small Business Saturday is a springboard, not a finish line. Keep backing local businesses through December and into 2026, and watch the difference show up on the high street and in local jobs.