Leaders: ‘Government must help the entrepreneur’

YOU would need to be very brave – or very foolish – to bet your mortgage on Sir John Major’s prediction that the worst of the recession is over.

Just like the weather, forecasting what the economy will do a few months from now is notoriously tricky.

He may well be right – and we sincerely hope so – but the only way to know with any confidence is to wait a few months and see.

The same can be said when it comes to the question of what to make of the record number of businesses launching in the Capital.

Any entrepreneur worth their salt will tell you that starting a venture is not the hard bit, it is making a success of it two, three or more years down the line.

At a time when many of the city’s biggest employers are going through major changes, from the banks to local authorities, it is no surprise that more people are choosing to go into business themselves.

How many of them go on to flourish will be the key.

This growing number of entrepreneurs has to be a good thing for the Capital.

Without people brave enough to take the plunge, we will never
discover the success stories of
tomorrow.

But yesterday’s warning from the Federation of Small Businesses is a timely reminder of the challenges facing small firms, from excessive red tape to the banks continuing reluctance to lend them money.

The government, both locally and nationally, needs to do all it can to support these employers of tomorrow.

Saddle up

Anything which capitalises on the interest in cycling created by Sir Chris Hoy and co has got to be good news.

And today’s proposal to create a “riding of the bicycles” event is
certainly worth further investigation.

The more traditional horseback version has been a great success since being revived in recent years and given the support which events like Pedal on Parliament have
attracted, there would certainly
be no shortage of willing participants.

There is a target to have 15 per cent of all journeys made by bike in Edinburgh by 2020, and staging events like this would certainly help with those ambitions.

Of course, part of that strategy will be ensuring cyclists and motorists co-exist safely on the city streets.

To that end, the organisers of any mass riding event will want to ensure minimal disruption for the gas-guzzling majority.