Cameron Gets Backing Of 5,000 Small Businesses

The bosses of 5,000 small businesses, who between them employ more than 100,000 people, have urged voters to back the Conservatives in the General Election.

In an open letter to the Daily Telegraph the business leaders said: "We work hard, make sacrifices and invest our own money to help our businesses grow and succeed.

"It was tough during the recession, but we kept going. We would like to see David Cameron and George Osborne given the chance to finish what they have started."

The letter added: "A change now would be far too risky and would undo all the good work of the last five years."

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The endorsement comes as David Cameron prepares to give a speech later setting out his plans for helping small firms that form the "backbone" of UK plc.

On Sunday, Mr Cameron delivered an impassioned riposte to criticism that he has failed to convey a positive vision during the campaign so far.

At a rally in the Yeovil constituency, the Tory leader said he "pleaded guilty" to focusing on the need to ensure a "strong and stable economy".

"If you think economic security and stability don't matter, if you want to take a risk, go with the other guy, vote with the other man," he told activists.

Mr Cameron said Conservatives "don't always shout with the passion that some people would like", but denied there was any "lack of drive" in the campaign.

He also bluntly insisted that Labour claims he had favoured the wealthy in government should be stuck "where the sun don't shine".

Kicking off a week intended to be devoted to economic issues, Mr Cameron will tell an audience in central London that he wants to see 600,000 new businesses start every year by 2020.

"Labour think it's government that creates jobs. We know it's the people who take risks, start out on their own, wake up at the crack of dawn to open up their shop and do their books on the kitchen table at midnight who create jobs," Mr Cameron is to say.

"Small businesses are the backbone of our economy - and Conservatives are behind them 100%.

"We are the party of the grafters and the roofers and the retailers and the plumbers. We get them, we respect them, we understand them, we back them. While Labour sneer, we cheer."