National & Local Priorities

Our economy has been placed under enormous strain over the last 6 years. The pandemic, Brexit and years of Government incompetence have meant that we are all struggling. As Liberal Democrat spokesperson for the Treasury and Business, Sarah is fighting to hold the Government to account for its mismanagement of the economy.

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The UK is facing record levels of inflation and a skyrocketing cost of living driven in part by the soaring cost of gas and electricity and yet energy providers are not paying their fair share. Over the last year Sarah has since been working to close the loopholes in the Government's flawed windfall tax and been pushing for a real levy that will support struggling people across the country. 

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Building a strong economy that works for everyone is not a short term project. Stability and certainty are more important than ever after so many years of confusion hard working people deserve to know they will have a roof over their heads and enough money in their pockets. 

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Sarah is challenging the Government to protect the residents of Richmond Park by cutting VAT, putting in place protections for renters and homeowners, and investing more in our local community. Although there are difficult months ahead, she remains committed to fighting for a stronger, fairer economy for everyone. 

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Changing the way that we generate energy is not the only hurdle the UK faces in its transition towards net zero. Sarah believes that we must improve efficiency to reduce our energy consumption, starting with the UK housing stock. After all, the greenest energy is the energy that we don’t use. There are two key approaches we need to take to combat carbon emissions.

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The first is to upgrade existing homes with better insulation and sources of heating and power. Upgrading existing buildings makes sense. It conserves and enhances existing places and neighbourhoods and avoids the ultra-high embodied energy costs of rebuild.

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The second is to ensure that all new homes are built to a net zero carbon standard. That standard was ready to go in 2015 when the Liberal Democrats left government but was rejected by the Conservatives in 2016.

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Upgrading our notoriously poorly insulated housing stock will reduce demand for energy, cut bills, end fuel poverty, optimise the health and wellbeing of our communities and create jobs. Sarah is committed to standing alongside local authorities, who are well placed to deliver action on home retrofit due to their carbon reduction pledges, knowledge of local areas and housing stock. She will support them to make further progress in this area by pushing the government for long-term funding.

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Businesses suffered hugely as a result of Covid-19 and more needs to be done to ensure that businesses, communities and town centres are able to bounce back despite the difficulties we are facing across the nation.

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Our high streets are in crisis and Covid-19 accelerated years of decline. Unless this trend is reversed, British high streets will become unrecognisable and thousands of retail workers will see their livelihoods jeopardised. Out of 2.8 million retail employees, nearly 60% are women, and research has shown them to be disproportionately affected by redundancies.

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The UK must not just reverse this pattern, but act to create new retail jobs and businesses. We must reduce barriers to entry for new retailers through innovative solutions, such as flexible leases and turnover-based rents. And we must champion retail entrepreneurship, not least to help counter the oncoming rise in unemployment.

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Sarah wants the government to work with local authorities to support them in offering more flexible rates terms to new businesses that want to come in and set up in the large voids that a lot of town centres will be experiencing in their retail spaces. Those voids affect town centres and communities enormously. Sarah wants to see barriers to new entrants into the retail sector lowered and innovation encouraged.