Cooper to unveil plan to rip down barriers to business and end the ‘computer says no’ economy

• Treasury Spokesperson Daisy Cooper will set out her 30 page plan to “Get Britain Growing Again” with a plan to boost businesses in every sector from farming to pharmaceuticals

   

• Cooper will describe how the Liberal Democrats have “rebuilt this party” after being “written off”, and set out how in power the party would rebuild the country by ripping down barriers to business and trade and ending the “computer says no” economy that is holding Britain back.

• A new Growth and Defence Partnership with the EU will be central to the economic vision as the “single biggest growth lever we could pull”.

In her keynote speech at the Liberal Democrat Autumn Conference, party Treasury spokesperson Daisy Cooper will unveil a 30-page report on how to “Get Britain Growing Again” warning that economic growth is being held back by a “computer says no” economy.

On Sunday, Cooper is set to unveil a major new growth plan to tear down the barriers holding back Britain's strengths, make our economy more resilient in the face of global turmoil, and unleash the potential of British business. 

This includes proposals to strike a new Growth and Defence Partnership with Europe, and create a single digital “one-stop-shop” service for businesses and investors, combining tax, regulatory, legal, Companies House, and general business services under a “Tell Us Once” model, situated in the new Department for Growth proposed by the Liberal Democrats.

She will also set out the ambition to make Britain the best place in the world for start-ups to scale and stay, 

In her speech, she will reflect on the Liberal Democrat journey to rebuild, stating “for years, people wrote us off. But we rebuilt this party. Door by door. Street by street. Seat by seat. From 11 MPs to 72. We rebuilt our party - and now we're ready to rebuild our country.”

Central to the plan is a major drive by the party to scrap, simplify and streamline business red tape, to help small and medium-sized businesses compete and grow. 

The Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson will also warn against the approach of  “more punishing tax hikes from Labour or painful spending cuts by the Conservatives and Reform UK”. 

Instead Britain must pull the biggest economic lever at our disposal by striking the deal on a new Growth and Defence Partnership with the EU to reverse the economic damage of Brexit which is currently costing us £90 billion a year in lost tax revenue, she will say.

She will take aim at Reform and the Conservatives for being “locked in a race to the bottom without a single credible costing between them” and the Conservative choice to insert a new Shadow Chancellor who helped to deliver and defend the mini-budget that wrecked our economy.

On the "computer-says-no" economy holding back British business, Daisy Cooper MP will say:

“We build brilliant start-ups, and watch too many leave to scale somewhere else. We produce world-class research, and too little of it becomes a British product. We attract foreign investment, but can't raise enough of our own capital to match it. We pour money into infrastructure and don't get the returns. Communities generate growth, and watch the rewards captured by Whitehall.

“Britain has the potential. The system holds it back. The computer says no.

“This plan tears down the barriers to investment, to innovation, and to skills. It sets out how Britain becomes the best place in the world for start-ups to scale and stay; how we build infrastructure with communities at the heart of it; how every business, wherever it is, can reach the talent, the capital and the markets it needs to grow.”

On deepening and strengthening ties with Europe, Daisy Cooper MP will say:

“This plan starts with the single biggest thing we can do to tear down the barriers holding Britain back - because the prize is enormous. 

“It could turbo-charge our economy and start to reverse the economic damage of Brexit which is currently costing us £90 billion a year in lost tax revenue.

“That is a new Growth and Defence Partnership with the EU. 

“In power, we will strike the deal on the single market. We will strike the deal on a customs union. We will strike the deal on defence. A new deal that makes our country safer, stronger and more prosperous. And we will say what no other party dares to say: Britain belongs at the heart of Europe, and we will take her there.”

On the Labour government, Daisy Cooper MP will say: 

“And I’m worried that Labour won’t be bold enough. 

“Just two weeks ago, the new Labour Chancellor gave his first big speech on growth. It was trailed as a "major speech," the "product of deep thinking." It contained no vision, no ideas, and absolutely no mention of Europe.”

On the Conservatives and Reform UK, Daisy Cooper MP will say:

“Meanwhile, Reform UK and the Conservatives are locked in a race to the bottom without a single credible costing between them. 

“The disastrous Truss mini- Budget crashed the pound. It spiked your mortgage. It cost the country billions.

“The new Tory Shadow Chancellor helped write it and Nigel Farage called it the best Conservative budget since 1986!

“But the worst could be yet to come:  Farage is modeling himself on Trump. A President who has used the presidency to enrich himself, dismantled anti-corruption safeguards and pardoned crypto criminals. 

“Conference we cannot allow that kind of politics to take hold in our country. We cannot afford to allow Nigel Farage to win the keys to No 10 or let the Tories put him there.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors

The full Growth Plan will be available following Daisy Cooper’s speech on Sunday