The Liberal Party notes with concern the confirmation that UK economic growth in the last 3 months of 2024 registered a meagre 0.1% subject to revision.

The UK is now hovering dangerously with recession and stagflation, just over a year since the end of the last recorded decline in economic activity.

We believe that the Labour government’s failure to be honest with the public over its spending commitments prior to the autumn budget have caused a substantial decline in business confidence and investment.

The subsequent decision to imposes over £20 billion of additional employer NI contributions on businesses has the potential to further subdue employment at a time when many businesses are already seeing signs of a cyclical slowdown in business.

The party believes growth agenda can only be sustained by support for small businesses by raising the VAT threshold to £150k to enable businesses to get established before being faced with the disproportion burdens of tax administration.

Steps should be taken to improving the  labour supply by raising tax thresholds and the benefit caps on the hours that unemployed can study and train.

We have been made aware of a potential by-election for Mid-Devon District Council and we would be please to hear from anybody interested in representing their community as a Liberal at the poll.

We already have a councillor in the region, Cllr Roy Collins in the Honiton St Michael`s ward.

The Liberal Party is dismayed to see the recent announcement that May’s local elections will be suspended in 9 areas to allow for the fast tracking of regional devolution.

These areas are East and West Sussex, Essex and Thurrock, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, Norfolk, Suffolk and Surrey and these elections will be delayed for one year until new unitary authorities have been created.

These elections will then be held in tandem with those for 6 new Combined Authority Mayoralties in  Cheshire & Warrington, Cumbria, Greater Essex, Hampshire & Solent, Norfolk & Suffolk, and Sussex & Brighton.

As the local government reforms are expected to take up to 3 years, we believe the electorate in all areas affected must be able to elect councillors who represent their views on the form of reorganisation their communities aspire to.

The party remains unconvinced that these reforms of local government will provide any measurable benefits whilst removing local accountability for decisions local affecting communities.

Community politics is at the very core of our beliefs, and we support local government and in particular, localism which we see as being paramount to a flourishing society.

The Liberal Party is deeply alarmed at the threat to global trade by the imposition of tariffs by the new American administration on its global trading patterners.

These tariffs have much to do with the administration position on illegal drugs imports and illegal immigration as much as addressing any trade imbalances.

The cost of tariffs on imports is almost inevitably passed onto consumer as often little effort has been made to boost domestic supply at a competitive price before imposing the tariffs.

As such these tariffs will almost certainly increase the costing of living in the US, adding to inflation and hurting consumers, whilst risking recession across the world.

Any country concerned about its trade deficit should be first looking inside its own economy to see why it cannot supply goods and services domestically at a competitive price before importing these.

The Liberal Party notes resumed media speculation that the government is engaging with potential administrators prior to Thames Water being placed in administration.

Whilst the company is reported to have sufficient funds in the short term, the party believes it should be brought back into public ownership as quickly as possible to reduce uncertainty and to protect consumers and the environment.

The company’s current and previous owners should be bailed into any recovery plan to reduce taxpayers’ exposure to the liabilities of a company with almost £18 billion in debt, having seen over £7 billion in dividends extracted from the company over previous decades.

Under public ownership the water utility can re-invest in infrastructure and the supply of clean water without having to pay out unjustified dividends to predominantly foreign owners with no regard for the impact of their ownership.

The latest addition of Liberal News is now available to view within the Liberal Library section of our party website.

On the 26th March the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) will publish a an Economic and Fiscal Forecast for the year as the Chancellor makes a supporting statement to parliament.

The Liberal Party believes that if the government is to fulfil its of stated aim of creating economic prosperity, funding public service and reducing public debt it needs to recognise the part played by small business in our local communities.

We believe that the imposition of an increase in Employer NI contributions has already created adverse trading conditions for all business, slowed economic activity and curtailed recruitment.

To support the small business sector, we would advocate:

Raising the VAT threshold to £150k to enable businesses to get established before being faced with the disproportion burdens of tax administration.

Business Rates should be replaced with a Land Value Tax and simplified so that the business rates regime aligns with the costs of a small bushiness locally, not as a revenue stream.

Providing small business with advice and training via local business hubs and better financial support.

The Liberal Party is appalled at government plans to abolish May’s local election’s and dismantle local democracy in the wake of its devolution white paper, only released on the 16th of December 2024.

The current planned devolution of power would see district and county councils merged to create over-sized unitary bodies with an average size of 500000 residents. These structures would be far removed from the communities they should be serving and reduce local accountability and oversight.

Previous re-organisations of local government have not resulted in cost savings and the party views  this is further centralisation by the back door.

The party believes that all the problems that are being continually discussed at the moment in Social Care, Health, Education, Policing etc are the result of empire building at the expense of communities.

The local government areas requesting the suspension of May’s local elections are Derbyshire, Devon, East Sussex, West Sussex, Essex, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Oxfordshire, Suffolk, Surrey, Thurrock, Warwickshire, and Worcestershire.

The Liberal Party believes in community politics and local representation and would welcome enquiries from concerned residents within these areas who have a desire to server their local communities and would be willing to stand in May’s elections as Liberal candidates.

The Liberal Party notes with concern the current turmoil in the UK bond market, the rise in government borrowing costs and the effects on the value of Sterling.

Whilst concerns over government spending extend around the world, the UK is particularly vulnerable. The Labour Party failed to disclose its spending and tax plans during the election campaign and in the run up to the Autumn statement to avoid scrutiny, undermining confidence amongst businesses.

The Liberal Party notes that during this turmoil that Chancellor Rachel Reeves has prioritized a visit to China over engaging with markets to clarify the UK’s financial outlook.

The chancellor’s claim that her visit to China will generate £600 million of secure growth in the next 5 years ignores the rising cost of financing government borrowing in the long-term.

The Liberal Party is now gravely concerned that the returning chancellor may be forced into an emergency budget involving tax raises, cuts to services, or a combination of both at a time of stagnation in growth and stubborn inflation.

The Liberal Party believes that working families should be able to retain more of their income after tax. Instead, successive government have left tax allowances frozen, effectively increasing the tax take as inflation pushes up wages.

As we were recently reminded personal tax allowance has not been raised since 2021 and would otherwise have risen in line with inflation from £12570 to £15228 pa leaving working people with more of their own money.

Even for higher earners the £100k limit at which the  marginal rate is set at 50% set in 2010 would have otherwise risen to £151123.

The Liberal Party believes that by raising the tax threshold to £20,000, we would take millions of low paid out of the fiscal drag that had affected so many taxpayers.

Furthermore, we would also reform the benefits system to ensure that work always pays, and that people are incentivised to go out to work over being trapped on benefits. This would encourage more people into work and grow the economy. It would also lift many pensioners out of financial hardship.

We need to increase the cap on people studying or working from 16 hours per week to at least 24 hours per week.

The failure to raise these tax limits is diminishing working families’ purchasing power at a time when the cost-of-living crisis and energy prices rises are again threatening families’ finances.