You can easily opt out of emails, calls or SMS at any time, and we won't sell your details to anyone else. Full details are in our privacy policy.
You are also welcome to email us using our online form.
The recession is hurting businesses and families throughout Britain. Many people are losing their jobs, their livelihoods and their homes. The health of our economy is linked as never before to the health of those we trade with in Europe and beyond. We must work urgently with other European countries to help us all pull through recession.
More than 3 million jobs in the UK are dependent on trade with other EU countries. Being part of the European Union allows our businesses, both big and small, to compete on equal terms in the largest single market in the world. Other EU countries have invested almost £2 trillion in the UK and almost two-thirds of the goods made in UK factories – everything from food to fashion and chemicals to cars – goes to the rest of the EU.
Gordon Brown was arrogant and complacent about Britain’s economic performance. He lectured other countries about how he thought he had brought an end to “boom and bust” but he encouraged the unsustainable boom in debt which has led to this recession. As a result, British consumers have the largest personal debts in the EU.
The people and families of Britain are dealing with the harsh realities of recession day in, day out. People are losing their jobs, many are struggling to keep their homes and businesses are going bust. Across the country unemployment is rising, wages are falling and banks have cut lending. In Britain, Liberal Democrats want to put money in people’s pockets with big, permanent tax cuts for ordinary people and families, funded by closing loopholes and unfair exemptions that benefit big business and the wealthy.
Liberal Democrats want to ensure that Britain comes out of recession in a better state than we went in. We would take this opportunity to help Britain’s economy and help combat climate change with investment in green jobs, green technology, energy efficient homes and offices and public transport we can be proud of.
Over the last year our banking system almost collapsed. The British banking system is inextricably bound up with banking systems across Europe. We live in a world where money can be moved easily across borders, and banks rely on one another. European countries were right to take individual action aimed at getting credit flowing again.
For decades, Labour and the Conservatives have resisted tighter regulation of the City of London and the banking system. This has led to record levels of debt and a recession. Liberal Democrats want the EU to help get a grip on the behaviour of credit institutions. We want more co-operation at EU level between national financial services authorities and the European Central Bank in order to improve openness, ensure fair competition, and keep an eye on how banks are operating across Europe. We must work together to create a fair, secure and level playing-field in the banking sector.
There is a growing problem of companies and banks using offshore financial centres and other means to avoid paying their fair share in tax. This can only be stopped if EU countries co-ordinate better and are stricter at cracking down on offshore centres. In particular, the EU can help us rebuild effective local banking in the UK which can support local businesses and local economies.
While banking regulation will help prevent a future financial crisis, it won't dig us out of the current one. We need national governments to co-operate through the EU to help our economies to recover and jobs to be created. Once this recession is over, Europe must of course return to the tight fiscal rules that have supported the euro. The European Central Bank and the euro have been tried and tested over ten years providing a clearer picture of the benefits of membership of the single currency.
Working together with other European countries will help Britain beat recession and save jobs. If we become further isolated in Europe, Britain would have less say on the EU budget or on the rules and regulations of the single market. Isolation under the Conservatives and UKIP would mean there would be nobody in Brussels to stand up for British jobs, British consumers and British businesses.
Labour MEPs often fail to support British workers and businesses, for example by voting against their own government and backing damaging plans to scrap the UK's opt out of the 48 hour week limit in the Working Time Directive. Liberal Democrats have always supported the right for people to choose to earn overtime and opt out of the 48 hour week so long as this is a truly voluntary decision.
The EU can help to create lower and fairer prices for things like energy and phone calls and stop companies ripping people off by price fixing. Liberal Democrat MEPs have helped to open up markets, increase competition, and protect consumers. For instance:
Through Europe, we can achieve more. Different EU countries have their own employment laws, but the EU has helped set basic rights that every person is entitled to. Many of the new rights that help families to balance life and work, such as extended paid maternity leave are a result of EU action. The EU has also improved the rights of those facing redundancy, setting out minimum standards for consultation.
Despite opposition from Conservative MEPs and the Labour Government, Liberal Democrats have helped to deliver EU rules to ensure that no British employer can discriminate against people on the basis of age. Sexual orientation, disability and religion or belief were also covered in the same directive. Liberal Democrats have led a campaign to ensure these rules are extended to cover access to goods and services, where age discrimination is not currently covered in the UK.
Complete the single market to create more jobs: Services make up a large part of the economies of European countries (almost 70% of both GDP and employment in the EU) and yet there is little trade in services (less than 5% of GDP). More trade in services across the EU would mean another £6bn a year for the UK and up to 80,000 new jobs. It would also improve competition to reduce prices. Liberal Democrat MEPs will continue our campaign to extend the single market in the areas of energy, financial services and transport to so that British firms can provide services across the EU. With unemployment rising, it is essential to help people find jobs at home and abroad. Liberal Democrats will make it easier to work abroad by making it easier to transfer personal pensions and mortgages between European countries.
Protect consumers and push down prices: Liberal Democrat MEPs fight for a good deal for British consumers in Europe. If we want to open markets and force down the costs of everything from medicines to mobile phone bills, meals and machinery, we need legislation that will help consumers. We believe that British consumers abroad in other EU countries should expect the same standard of fair treatment as in the UK. We will support action through the EU to make it easier and safer to shop on the Internet and on the high street, including compensation for faulty products and protection for major purchases like holiday timeshares. Liberal Democrats support measure to further strengthen consumer protection and competition law. Liberal Democrats will ensure that the EU applies these more rigorously, so that local businesses can flourish, and people and communities can’t be exploited by powerful private or state-owned companies.
Extend free trade to cut prices on the high street: Europe’s single market has helped get new customers for British businesses and pushed down prices across Europe. That is why Liberal Democrats want to build on the single market in Europe as a step towards opening markets worldwide by developing a trans-Atlantic free trade area with North America. As a recent study by the OECD found, reducing regulation, tariff barriers and restrictions on foreign direct investment between the EU and the US would increase the wealth of everyone by up to £800 a year.
The euro: The euro has been more resilient than sterling in the financial crisis and has become a major reserve currency for many countries outside Europe. Liberal Democrats believe that it is in Britain’s long-term interest to be part of the euro. Membership of the single currency would help Britain improve economic stability and boost trade and investment. But Britain should join when the economic conditions are right, and with the present economic turbulence and volatility, they are not at the moment. If the government were to recommend joining the euro, Liberal Democrats believe this should only take place if that decision were supported by the people of Britain in a referendum.
