Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper has warned that a "computer says no" approach is holding back the UK's economic growth. Speaking at the Lib Dem conference in Brighton, Ms Cooper, who is also the party's Treasury spokesperson, unveiled a 30-page growth plan designed to remove barriers for businesses.
Ms Cooper highlighted that many ideas, start-ups, and research originating in Britain are subsequently taken overseas. She stated, "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."
A central proposal in the plan is a new Growth and Defence Partnership with the EU. Ms Cooper claimed this partnership would be the "single biggest growth lever we could pull" to deepen ties with Europe and reverse the economic damage of Brexit, which she asserted is currently costing the UK £90bn a year in lost tax revenue.
The plan also calls for a digital one-stop-shop service for businesses and investors, combining tax, regulatory, legal, Companies House, and general business services. This service, to be created within a new Department for Growth, aims to simplify red tape and support small and medium-sized businesses.