The Liberal Democrats have a ‘perception problem’ with business, which believes the party lacks influence and peddles tokenist policies, the Lib Dem business spokesman has admitted.

Lembit Opik claimed his new role shadowing the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform was a chance to build new relations with employers. “If they don’t like how the Lib Dems have done business before, there’s a chance for them to help me put it right,” the MP told the Financial Times.