Statistics Show Labour Is Failing Small Business

2.15.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Mon 19th Apr 2004

Today's re-launch of business support services by the DTI fails to recognise the decline of small business since Labour came to power. New statistics uncovered by the Liberal Democrats show that Labour has presided over a spectacular collapse of small business since 1997.

The number of companies deregistering for VAT, which the Government use as a measure of how many businesses have closed, has jumped from 151,900 in 1997 to 176,040 in 2002, a massive 16% rise. In the same period new VAT registrations across the UK has fallen by 6.3%.

Labour's failure of small business has hit impacted on regions harder than others. The regions with the greatest growth in VAT deregistration since 1997 are:

London 33% South West 15.1%

South East 19.2% West Midlands 12.5%

East 18.4% Yorkshire and Humber 10.9%

Worse still, the number of businesses folding in England's most deprived local authorities has leapt by up to 67%.

Commenting ahead of the re-launch Brian Cotter MP, Liberal Democrat Spokesman on Small Business, said: "The Government has a dismal record of supporting small business to date, with business closures soaring by 16% since Labour took office."

"Simply re-branding and re-structuring existing support schemes will not help small business to survive against the increased burden of red tape and taxation."

"Labour's vision to 'make the UK the best place in the world to start and grow a business' has become little more than a pipe dream."

"The Liberal Democrats would set businesses free from Government bureaucracy. The Whitehall machine must be trimmed back and the savings re-distributed to help local businesses on the ground."