Budget Must Help Small Businesses - Farron

South Lakes MP Tim Farron used his leader's speech at the Lib Dem conference to call for action to support small businesses, ahead of the budget on Wednesday. Tim also announced that Vince Cable will chair an expert panel for the party, looking at reform of the tax system for businesses.

Tim told the conference that "It's time to make the tax system work for small businesses. Communities thrive when enterprise and small business can thrive. But far too often the cards are stacked against them."

Tim noted that "Google and Facebook can negotiate with the tax office for months, yet small businesses can't even get through on the phone."

Instead of focusing solely on large multinationals, Tim argued, the government should look to support small businesses - "some small businesses are small for good... Some small businesses are small for now. If we back them they will build our future."

In the speech, Tim announced that former MP Vince Cable will chair an expert panel for the party to examine how the government can "radically reform the way we tax businesses."

With the structural deficit due to be eliminated by next year, Tim also called for the government "to be active and ambitious by investing in capital spending on housing, broadband and public transport." However, he predicted that the Chancellor would make an "unnecessary political choice to cut further", adding that "George Osborne's approach to the budget is political theatre. It's about politics, headlines and calculated positioning."