Labour cannot be both pro-Brexit and pro-business. SMEs across the country will suffer under their policies

"SMEs up and down the country have made it abundantly clear that any form of Brexit - be it red or blue - will harm their ability to hire staff, make it more difficult to export to our closest partners and ratchet up the cost of doing business," says Liberal Democrats candidate for Newcastle Central Ali Avaei, who also runs a small business in Newcastle.

"So while Labour wants to claim that it is on the side of small businesses, its support for Brexit means that ultimately these plans ring hollow. The simple fact is that you cannot be both pro-Brexit and pro-business.

"It is only the Liberal Democrats who will stop Brexit and bring forward a bold vision to support small businesses in the UK, including by scrapping the outdated business rates regime."