Sir: Having read Mr Stewart Black's 'The rise of small
businesses', I am astonished that the Liberal Party has been passed off as having 'had a respectable track record for some time now.' Mr Black fails to mention that the Labour Party's (and perhaps therefore the Conservative Party's) sudden preoccupation with the plight of small businesses stems directly from pressure exerted by the Liberals through the consultative machinery of the Lib-Lab pact. The Liberals were entirely responsible for the appointment of Harold Lever's committee to study small businesses and, as Mr Black says, the committee's 'early recommendations have formed the bulk of the budget package.' Mr Black should therefore have credited the Liberals with influence and achievement as well as consistency.
Andrea Hertz, Parliamentary Assistant in the Liberal Whip's Office, House of Commons, London SW1
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