Liberal Democrats vow to help small businesses

Date: 22nd December 2008

Members of the Liberal Democrat party will be visiting a selection of small firms over the Christmas period in a bid to best plan how the sector can survive the recession.

Senior figures in the party, such as Nick Clegg and Vincent Cable, will be liaising with businesses - including sole traders and limited companies - so to formulate an effective strategy on how to make it through the downturn.

Leader of the party, Mr Clegg, commented: "Small businesses are the lifeblood of our economy. It is clear that the government must be more innovative in providing support to suffering firms."

He added that when parliament returned in the New Year, the Liberal Democrat members would be putting forward plans on how the government can better help businesses through the recession.

Last week, BBC News reported that research by the Federation of Small Businesses had found that many firms were taking up to two weeks off over Christmas to save costs.