Some professionals are powerful although scarce. Scottish Labour MPs for example. Conversely, political clout may diminish in inverse proportion to rising numbers, as the plight of small business owners illustrates. At a time when new enterprises are proliferating, government policy is increasingly hostile to their interests. Nor, judging from the raw deal many small companies get from banks, are big corporations more accommodating.

This matters at the nebulous level of national competitiveness. But unless the small business lobby can damage political careers, upset public sector organisations and embarrass large companies, it will be consigned to mope in a corner like a wet hen.