Today, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) reported a big drop in confidence amongst its small firms between the end of April and June.
It also called for VAT cuts in some areas to help growth in struggling sectors of the economy.
The FSB’s measurement of small business confidence, the Voice of Small Business Index, fell from +6.7 from the first quarter of 2011, down to just 0.3, a drop of 6.4 points. Higher scores point to more confidence.
Confidence was found to have indeed fallen in 13 of 18 sectors. ‘Confident sectors’ were financial services, manufacturing and the computer industry.
Manufacturing had contributed to a rise in confidence in two regions – the East of England and the East Midlands, according to the FSB.