Reaction to yesterdays budget has been muted. A feeling that it was an opportunity missed Sure there was help for those struggling to make ends meet but not as bold a set of proposals as we recently put forward - see Our budget Proposals - Babergh Liberal Democrats Big decisions about controlling welfare spend and funding defence were kicked down the road for another day Our country needed one thing more than anything else from the Chancellor’s Budget : a real plan to get our economy growing. But it was completely missing.
Because without a real growth plan, no Budget will ever be more than just tinkering around the edges. Without growth, we can’t end the cost-of-living crisis, fix our public services, or repair the broken social contract.
And at the heart of a real growth plan has to be fixing our broken relationship with Europe. Joining the single market and a customs union, bringing down the Brexit trade barriers that have done so much damage, and putting the UK back at the heart of Europe.
Boosting trade with Europe would generate a growth dividend that we would use to tackle the cost-of-living crisis by raising the income tax thresholds that the Conservatives and Labour have frozen since 2021. Putting money back into people’s pockets in the fairest way possible – like we did when we were in government. Disappointingly, the Prime Minister says he is still refusing to ditch Keir Starmer’s old red lines that rule out membership of the single market or a customs union. And already, we’re seeing the Brexiteer forces in the Conservative Party, Reform and – yes – Labour doing everything they can to block any progress with Europe.
So it’s up to us – the most pro-growth, pro-business and pro-European party in British politics – to make the case for a real growth plan with Europe at its heart. After today’s growth-free Budget, it’s more urgent than ever. | 