Lib Dems vow to end 'computer says no' economy to boost growth

An important development from the financial markets: Lib Dems vow to end 'computer says no' economy to boost growthImage source, PA MediaImage caption, Deputy leader Daisy Cooper says she has a plan for growthByJennifer McKiernanPolitical reporterPublished20 September 2026Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper has warned the UK's economic growth is being held back by a "computer says no" approach. She unveiled a 30-page growth plan, external aimed at removing barriers to business as part of her speech to the Lib Dem conference in Brighton. Cooper, who is also the party's Treasury spokesperson, said too many ideas, start-ups and research started in Britain but ended up being taken overseas.

She also outlined a new Growth and Defence Partnership with the EU to reverse the economic damage of Brexit, that she claimed is currently costing the UK £90bn a year in lost tax revenue. Speaking on stage in Brighton, she said: "We build brilliant start-ups, and watch too many leave to scale somewhere else. We produce world-class research, and too little of it becomes a British product.

Economic Details

""Britain has the potential," she went on. "The system holds it back. The computer says no.

"This plan tears down the barriers to investment, to innovation, and to skills. "Cooper called for the creation of a digital one-stop-shop service for businesses and investors, combining tax, regulatory, legal, Companies House, and general business services. Creating this within a new Department for Growth would simplify red tape and help small and medium-sized businesses compete and grow, she said.

Cooper said a new Growth and Defence Partnership with the EU, would be the "single biggest growth lever we could pull" by deepening ties with Europe. "It could turbo-charge our economy and start to reverse the economic damage of Brexit which is currently costing us £90bn a year in lost tax revenue," she said. "In power, we will strike the deal on the single market, we will strike the deal on a customs union, we will strike the deal on defence.

Analyst Views

"She claimed the Lib Dems would say "what no other party dares to say" that Britain "belongs at the heart of Europe, and we will take her there". Speaking to journalists after her speech, she added she believed re-joining the EU single market and customs union could be done "within a year". "We are very clear we want to join the single market and have a customs union and we think we can get there within a year," she said.

Asked whether associate partnership could be an option for the UK, following the EU offer of a potential deal for Canada, she said: "I don't see why we need to wait - Canada is a long way away, the geography is different, it's a different relationship. "We are just a few miles away from the EU, our closest, biggest trading partner, we've got that historical relationship, we think we could get into the single market and have a customs union within 12 months.

Economists are analysing what the news means for the markets.