This morning I was the Keynote Speaker for the business breakfast at the Queens Speech Forum hosted by Total Politics and Policy Review TV. I spoke about our government’s policies for business and why I think they are right to get the economy moving again. You can read my whole speech below: Good morning and can I say how delighted I am to be here at this Business Breakfast, talking about an area that has shaped my life and that will shape the path of recovery this country is starting to tread. The business sector is of huge importance to this country and its economy, and I am sad to say that I do not believe it is an area that has been given due attention over the last thirteen years. Today, with a new government at the helm we are standing at a turning point, and we must make the right decisions now to get back on track. As founder of YouGov I myself have come from the world of business, and through my experience I realise the problems and barriers that those in business are currently facing. We must ensure that Britain remains a place that encourages small companies and their founders and that it remains a country where the world’s major companies are happy to establish themselves. YouGov started as a fledgling firm, and although it later grew into a business that stretched over three continents and over 400 employees I will never forget its beginnings. It is the ability of people in Britain to found their own company’s and to find success with them that makes this such a great place to live and work, and despite the current economic hardships we face I believe that if we act responsibly and make the right decisions, no matter how difficult, it will remain just that. Let me turn to the plans that we have, and will be introducing as a new government to help business in the United Kingdom. Firstly we must address the red tape and bureaucracy that suffocates our employers, something that I have heard from businessmen in my constituency and something that I have first hand experience of while at YouGov. The facts are clear. Britain’s competitiveness has suffered in recent years, with businesses ranking us 84th in the world for tax and 86th for regulation. Indeed, since 1997, the tax legislation handbook has doubled in length. Something has to be done, and I am glad to say that already we have announced a moratorium on business rates, offering immediate help to firms struggling because of this unfair, unjust tax. For me the new ‘one-in-one-out’ rule for regulation is another key ingredient of curing this problem. It’s simple: if you’re a Minister who wants to bring in a new piece of regulation, first you’ve got to find an existing one to get rid of. A policy that will end forever the regulation producing apparatus that Labour seemed to have established at Whitehall. There are many other areas that will also be addressed, stopping the jobs tax, something that would have killed our economic recovery. We will exempt all new businesses starting in the first two years of a Conservative Government from Employers' National Insurance on the first ten employees they hire in the first year. We will extend government procurement to small and medium-sized businesses by cutting administrative requirements, with the aim of seeing 25 per cent of government contracts go to SMEs, and we will make small business rate relief automatic. All of these things are key in rejuvenating business and making sure that this is a country where we encourage those with ideas and retain those with experience, strengthening business already here and helping those that have just begun. I must also add one more thing, an area that holds a special interest for me. I firmly believe that innovation is of great importance for our nation; this is something that history shows we excel at and that, in my opinion, our business future must be forged. We must back our inventors, our entrepreneurs, our fledgling firms with new ideas as there key selling point. We will not be able to compete with our Chinese counterparts in terms of production costs, or indeed production quantity, and yet if we focus on this area I do not believe that we will have to. It is in innovation and intellectual property that we can carve our niche; this is the area in which we can excel. It is my firm belief that this is where we must focus over the upcoming years, and I will stand here and promise you now, that if we do then this will be the area in which our businesses can lead the world. For me a great role model for this approach comes from the United States, at Silicon Valley, where the US Government funnels money and advice towards American startup firms, and where these firms are able to thrive as a result. This is something that we must explore here in the UK, and something that I will be raising to the house in my capacity as a Member of Parliament. It is the entrepreneurs that will establish the companies of the future, businesses that will grow and push at the highest levels and therefore, it is those people that we must, above all, remember in any legislation that we introduce. Of course it is also important to look at the economy as a whole, we must encourage the growth that will turn around the issues we currently face and make sure that Britain regains its status as a world leader of business. The first and most important task in terms of addressing our current problems is cutting the deficit. We are currently borrowing one pound for every four that we spend. We have seen in Europe what can happen if we do not take action now to tackle this problem, and the warning of Greece must be heeded. If we do not act immediately to deal with our problems then we will not be able to encourage growth and hasten the economic recovery. I also think that it is interesting to note that Europe is now saying what the Conservative Party said all along, deficit reduction is central to economic recovery. The reduction of our debts will signal to the world that we are once again open for business; it will keep our interest rates low and our investor confidence high. All of which are hugely important for business, both domestically and internationally. Another key area is in promoting trade, one of the best things that we can do for business in this country is to reduce the barriers that stand in the way of trade. In a modern and global word our fortunes and the fortunes of other nations are of course entwined. That is why David Cameron has worked so hard to drive forward the Doha trade negotiations. This is a deal that has the potential to add $170 billion to the global economy. It is also important that we seek out opportunities in other markets; we export more to Ireland than to Brazil, Russia, India and China combined, there is a lot of scope for the future. The challenges that we face are great, and the context in which we face them daunting. The solutions will not be easy. There is no magic wand, but I am confident that the proposals that we have set out will result in the long-term progress that we all want to see and ensure that business in this country both continues to succeed and begins to forge itself new paths. Thank you