Liberal Democrat plans to support local industry
Liberal Democrats believe economic recovery starts at home. Our whole approach to restoring growth is about putting money into people’s pockets – through interest rate cuts and tax cuts. To have the greatest effect, that money needs to be spent here, stimulating demand. So consumers should be proud to ‘Buy British’ and ‘Buy Local’, particularly at a time of recession.
The idea of food miles, and the benefits of sourcing food locally, has become well-known over the last couple of years. Work by farmers, chefs, market owners and organisations like British Food Fortnight have successfully promoted the ethos of ‘Buy British’ and ‘Buy Local’ within the food sector, promoting the quality of British produce as well as the environmental, social and economic benefits of supporting local and national industry.
Reg Shore and Nick Clegg
Liberal Democrats want to transpose this success to all British industry. We rightly cannot, under EU law, favour British businesses, and do not want to impose any restrictions on international trade, which we believe is of great benefit to British consumers through lower prices. We would oppose any move towards increased protectionism by any countries prompted by the global recession.
However, we do want to ensure consumers are able to make informed decisions and be able to choose local and British products when they want to. Additional consumer demand for local manufacture would give a competitive edge to UK producers currently threatened by price-only comparison with rivals in the Far East.
We will work with the CBI and small business representatives to replicate the ‘Little Red Tractor’ scheme for non-food products. A Union Flag logo on goods manufactured in the UK would help provide consumers with the information they need to make informed choices.
We will support these organisations in moves to promote the ‘Buy British’ approach, from research into the environmental impact of distant manufacture, through to publicity campaigns such as a ‘British Made Fortnight’.