With the spotlight having been on other parties in recent months, the past few days in a sunny Brighton offered an opportunity for the Liberal Democrats to set out their stall and grab the media limelight.
On Sunday, Deputy Leader and Treasury spokesperson Daisy Cooper unveiled the Lib Dems’ new plan to get Britain growing again. The plan covers a broad range of issues that will be of interest to BusinessLDN members – from ambitions to reduce trade barriers with the European Union to financing scale-ups, and from simplifying the tax code to backing regional growth through fiscal devolution.
We will be publishing a short report on what the next stage of fiscal devolution should mean for London shortly. As part of this, we will be engaging with the Lib Dems – and other parties – to ensure reforms deliver for business across the capital.
The Lib Dems are also eyeing up City Hall as we head towards a Mayoral election in 2028. So far, Sarah Olney MP and Rob Blackie – the party’s candidate in 2024 – have announced they will be standing. We are already engaging and intend to run a series of events with confirmed Mayoral candidates across the political spectrum next year.
Housing will inevitably be a key issue, and the temporary accommodation report that we published with CBRE last week was referenced positively on a number of fringe panels on Monday. We will continue to make the case for reforms that can make the system work better for Londoners, councils and the city’s economy.
As we navigate an increasingly fragmented political landscape across London and the UK, we look forward to welcoming members to our upcoming events at Labour in Liverpool, the Greens in Brighton and Conservatives in Birmingham. Do get in touch if you would like us to support your activity during conference season or meet with the BusinessLDN team.