All western Governments are faced with the same dilemma. The demand for public services is rising as is the accompanying tax burden. Neither the recipients of public services nor those who pay taxes are happy. The position is worsening and trouble is coming.

There is one magical escape route from the problem: economic growth. Growth brings extra revenues to pay for public services without increasing rates of taxation. No wonder politicians love growth. Promises of faster growth are second only to promises of cutting out waste when politicians tell us why they, and only they, can make tomorrow better than today.

Unfortunately, although politicians say they like economic growth they generally have no idea how to nurture it and often act in ways which seem designed to slow the economy down. The UK Government's latest Employment Rights Bill is a perfect example.

There are many things which encourage faster growth: a stable and not stifling regulatory regime, opportunity, social attitudes to wealth creation. In general the direction of travel for these factors is unhelpful but there is another obvious key factor - arguably more powerful than all the rest - which is curiously overlooked. That is the availability of money.

For an entrepreneur to turn a great idea into a fledging business takes money and to grow that business into a company which........

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