At the recent Liberal Democrat Business Summit, Cleantech for UK joined policymakers, business leaders and investors came together to engage in discussions with Liberal Democrat leaders on a central challenge: how can the UK unlock sustainable economic growth and position itself as Europe’s most attractive destination for investment?
Across the discussions, a consistent message emerged. Many of the barriers to growth are well understood, but addressing them will require greater policy clarity, stronger coordination across government and a renewed focus on long-term delivery.
A key theme was the need to strengthen the UK’s investment proposition through simpler tax and regulatory frameworks. Businesses continue to face complexity across multiple regimes, which can slow deployment, increase costs and deter investment.
Participants highlighted the importance of long-term policy certainty, particularly around revenue models and government support mechanisms. This is especially important for capital-intensive sectors and infrastructure-led business models, where investment decisions depend on clear signals about future demand and pricing.
There was also a strong call for more coordinated policymaking across government. While growth is a shared priority, its interpretation varies across departments. Greater alignment from the centre would help create a more coherent environment for investment, particularly in areas that sit across energy, industry and infrastructure.
Finally, the need for differentiated support was emphasised. Scale-ups, in particular, face distinct challenges as they move from demonstration to commercial deployment, and require tailored policy and financing solutions.
Skills shortages were identified as a major barrier, particularly in sectors requiring technical and vocational expertise. Manufacturing, infrastructure, health and social care were all highlighted as areas with acute gaps.
The discussion pointed to the need to rebalance the UK’s education system towards technical pathways, especially Level 4 and 5 qualifications. These roles are critical to delivering and maintaining complex systems and services that underpin economic growth.
However, the pipeline feeding into these roles is constrained by limited support at lower qualification levels. Without sufficient progression through Levels 2 and 3, the supply of higher-skilled workers remains restricted.
There was also interest in more responsive approaches to skills development. Closer collaboration between education providers and industry, including real-time feedback on employer needs, was seen as a practical way to ensure training remains relevant.
As new technologies continue to reshape the economy, discussions focused on how regulation can support innovation while maintaining public trust. Transparency emerged as a central theme, particularly in relation to data and how technologies are developed and deployed.
Participants emphasised the importance of building trust through clearer standards and accountability, alongside ensuring that regulation is applied at the right point in the value chain. There was also interest in the potential for new technologies to support regulatory processes themselves, for example through monitoring or quality assurance.
More broadly, there was recognition that the UK has an opportunity to take a pragmatic, innovation-friendly approach to regulation, while ensuring alignment with international markets to support business growth beyond the UK.
Infrastructure was identified as a central pillar of long-term growth, with a particular focus on connectivity. This includes housing, transport, energy and digital systems, all of which underpin economic activity and business expansion.
A key challenge remains delivery. While suitable sites and opportunities exist, projects are often delayed by planning constraints, viability challenges and limited coordination. Addressing these barriers will be essential to accelerating development.
Participants highlighted the importance of de-risking projects, particularly on brownfield sites, and strengthening collaboration between the public and private sectors. Public support was also seen as critical. Framing development in terms of long-term community benefit, rather than short-term disruption, will be key to securing buy-in.
Across discussions on finance, the importance of confidence and long-term thinking was a consistent theme. Frequent policy changes and short-term decision-making were seen as undermining investor sentiment. There were calls to mobilise greater investment from pension funds and to create a stronger pipeline of investable opportunities, particularly in infrastructure and growth sectors.
Improving access to finance for smaller businesses and encouraging a broader investment culture were also highlighted as priorities. Underlying all of this was the need for a stable and positive narrative about the UK economy. Business and investor confidence is closely tied to political and policy signals, and rebuilding that confidence will be essential to unlocking capital at scale.
The discussions underscored both the scale of the opportunity and the urgency of action. The UK has strong foundations, including innovation capability, a diverse industrial base and global investment appeal. However, realising this potential will depend on moving from strategy to delivery. Greater policy certainty, improved coordination across government and a more consistent long-term approach will be critical to translating ambition into growth.
The discussions also provided a useful lens into how the party is currently positioned in relation to sectors driving the UK’s transition to a low-carbon economy. While cleantech was not always addressed explicitly, many of the priorities raised, such as long-term policy certainty, infrastructure delivery, skills development and mobilising private capital, are closely aligned with the needs of businesses scaling capital-intensive, innovation-led solutions.
The tone of the conversation was broadly supportive, with a clear recognition that these sectors will play a central role in future growth. However, there remains a gap between this implicit support and a clearly articulated, sector-specific offer. For cleantech scale-ups and investors, the direction of travel is encouraging, but the next step will be translating these principles into targeted policies and consistent signals that can unlock deployment at pace.
