Lorely Promoted to Shadow Small Business Brief in Ming Reshuffle

3.45.49pm UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 15th Mar 2006

Solihull MP Lorely Burt has been promoted to Small Businesses Spokeswoman in the Shadow DTI team in the Liberal Democrat reshuffle announced today.

"I am excited and anxious to champion the cause of small businesses in Britain" said Lorely. "Having run several small businesses myself in the past, I understand the challenges and frustrations which small businesses face."

"Small businesses comprise 99.2% of all businesses, and employ over 20m people. They deserve much more consideration and help then they get, and I will be fighting to achieve the conditions in which they can grow and prosper," added the Solihull MP.

Among the first issues Mrs Burt will be tackling will be making tax fairer and simpler, freeing business from red tape and investing in the right skills to boost productivity.