It used to be said that the last Government, being Tory, "understood" the world of business.

I'm not sure that was strictly true, because they understood the world of big business where they wined, dined and banked cheques from employees of large public concerns.

While I'm not decrying the skills needed to run an ICL or a Shell - and God knows, I couldn't do it because I don't have the right skills - there's not a great deal of risk about rising the corporate ladder.

The worst that happens is you're fired and these days everyone seems to get amazing pay-offs. So I don't think the last Government knew much about the seven days a week, 20 hours a day, roll your sleeves up world of the entrepreneur, the start-up firm, the family business.

Mind you, I think the current Government understands even less. Unfortunately, it matters. All over the world, economic pundits have identified 'SMEs' - small and medium enterprises - as the engines for growth. We're faster, quicker, niftier, have quicker decision models, react faster, are prepared to take risks.

Risks. Ah there's a word which encapsulates what it's all about. To start a business is to take a risk. To stay in business is to take a risk. To grow a business is to take a risk. As an aside, that's why we deserve whatever rewards we can get, because we took the risk, with our houses, our careers, our families.

But because Government don't understand the concept of risks taking in this sense, they have no starting point to comprehend the culture of small firms and create an environment where we can flourish. To a politician, risk relates to votes. It is an environment where we can flourish. To a politician, risk relates to votes. It is an absolute, not a comparative. No shades of grey. Am I in or am I out? Do three sex scandals and two sleaze trials mean a swing of more or less than eight per cent. Bottom line - Do I stay in power? Do I stay in control? Do I stay in my job?

They can't understand the risks of starting a business. Dragging yourself out of bed at 3am because there is no other way to find more hours and no money to hire another person. Juggling the cashflow each month -- do I pay the staff or the suppliers. Can I afford this loan to fund this new contract I've been offered? It's the Wild West, it's the rollercoaster, it's gold fever, it's the South Sea bubble, it's hysteria and fear and panic and exhilaration and ecstasy and exhaustion.

You cannot write laws for these situations, you can only create frameworks. You can't write the rules to teach your baby to walk, you can only create a safe environment. The baby has to walk itself.

But Government don't understand that, and this one in particular, made up of ex-teachers, ex-councillors, ex union officials, hasn't a cat in hell's chance.

So when I hear "the Government is going to help small firms", my heart sinks and I reach for the bottle.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.