Conservatives to 'champion' small businesses

News Article - 23 May 2012
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Conservative Party leader David Cameron has said that he wants to do more to help small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs).

In an address to the Forum for Private Businesses, Mr Cameron said that an "active and growing" SME sector was vital to the country's economy and a key indicator of its performance.

He said that the party would reduce the regulatory burden on smaller firms, claiming that more than three-quarters of businesses felt that the cost of compliance arising from regulations have risen in recent years.

Mr Cameron added that the Tories would also simplify the tax system, as smaller businesses could often not afford to deal with the "tax maze".

A Conservative government would also pull out the EU social chapter, he stated, while acknowledging that such a move could be "controversial".

"I will be guided not by dogma - either Europhile or Europhobic - but by a hard-headed assessment of what works for Britain," he said.

Mr Cameron added that society depended on the "courage and ambition" of entrepreneurs and called for a more positive attitude to business and enterprise at every level.

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