The Labour party is being abandoned by the small business community because of a perceived lack of support during the current economic slowdown.
The latest quarterly report by retailer Office World revealed that, in the run-up to local elections, almost half of all small firms felt the government's dealings with business were poor or very poor.
It puts support for Labour among small companies at just 14 per cent, the lowest since Tony Blair took control of the party in 1994.
Small business leaders have repeatedly blamed the Government for excessive amounts of taxation and red tape and last months' Budget did little to appease them.
Wednesday April 30 2003
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