Small businesses are getting hammered by rates and rules. It's time to stop the madness and let them grow.

Why does it feel like the government is actively trying to make it harder to run a small business in this country? You pay your taxes, you try to make an honest living, and then you get hit with business rates that make no sense and a mountain of paperwork for every little thing. It's like they want us all to shut up shop and work for big corporations instead.

My idea is simple: let's give small and medium-sized businesses a proper break. We should slash business rates for any company with under, say, 50 employees, and simplify the whole process so it's not a headache every year. And while we're at it, let's get rid of about half the daft regulations and forms that land on our doormats every month. There's no reason a plumber like me needs to fill out forms about things that have nothing to do with plumbing.

Think about it.