One expects conglomerates to have the resources to protect themselves in courts and other places if they feel hard done by. But for years we have attributed the same kind of firepower to Britain’s minnows. This cannot be right and Ed Miliband moved today to correct this wrong.

Labour created 1.1m new businesses between 1997 and 2010.  Today there are over 5m businesses in the country. Some 4m of these are self-employed or sole traders as they are sometimes called. Together they account for over 60 per cent of the work force.

But like you and me they too get ripped off by the likes of banks and energy giants.

So it was good to hear the commitments made to this sector today by Ed Miliband. The Labour leader was speaking at the 40th anniversary conference of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) in Manchester.

Labour is proposing the introduction of a business investment bank. In addition there is a promise of challenger banks to break the decades-long dominance of a small number of greedy banks.

The best policy on the banking front is the development of regional banks. Why not have a Bank of Manchester staffed by Mancunians serving local businesses. This system of regional banks has served Germany well and we should adopt the idea here too.

The delegates at the FSB conference also heard Labour intent on ensuring any freeze in energy prices will also benefit the minnows. The protection will extend to awful rollover contracts that force small businesses into never-ending price increases.

Miliband also said he will introduce cuts to business rate bills for SMEs in the high street in addition to the small business rate relief introduced by the last Labour government.

Miliband showed his grasp of small business issues when he announced that rights taken for granted by consumers will be extended to small business proprietors. He will invite the FSB to the same table as that occupied by such consumer champions as Which? and Citizens Advice.

To round off his tour of the small business scene, Miliband said the FSB will be able to represent and take complaints up on behalf of SMEs in the highest courts of the land.

Let us not forget the first small business minister was a Labour appointment. That was Harold Lever who was then the member of parliament for central Manchester. How fitting!