Liberal Democrats Will Set Business Free

12.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Mon 25th Apr 2005

Today at the British Chambers of Commerce Conference, Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesman in the Lords, Lord Newby, will pledge to support business by setting it free.

Liberal Democrats will:

· Abolish the DTI as the biggest single act of deregulation ever

· Introduce independent impact assessments and sunset clauses on new regulation

· Reform business rates with an allowance for small businesses saving them up to £600 a year

· Simplify the tax system to ease the burden on small business

Lord Newby will say:

"People running businesses up and down the country are the powerhouse of the economy. Liberal Democrats recognise that business needs the freedom to generate economic growth - yet they are held back, struggling under a mountain of government rules, tax complications, bureaucracy and inspection.

"Gordon Brown describes a domestic nirvana of high employment and strong, steady growth.

"Yet beneath the surface, parts of the wealth-creating economy are under tremendous pressure. Corporate profitability in manufacturing has fallen steadily under Labour and is now almost at the levels seen in the recession of the early 1990s.

"UK competitiveness has declined sharply since 1997. Regional disparities in economic productivity have widened. Business start-up rates were the same in 2003 as in 1997, and self-employment rates lower.

"This has happened in spite of all the interference and micro-management of the DTI. Businesses know their customers and understand their markets. They don't need civil servants meddling.

"Small and medium-sized businesses are the engines of the economy, and we have to give them room to breathe. We will only subject them to regulation where the benefits clearly outweigh the costs, as measured by the administrative burden they impose.

"We will streamline the inspection regimes businesses face. We will simplify the tax system they struggle with.

"Liberal Democrats are also clear about the necessary role of Government in upholding competition, encouraging corporate responsibility and environmental sustainability, and ensuring a reliable transport infrastructure.

"Liberal Democrats are instinctively a pro-business party. We believe the people who work in our businesses can stand toe-to-toe with the best in the world and deliver the prosperity this country depends on. We will set them free to do that. The Liberal Democrats are the real alternative for business."