Alistair Darling is getting it fron all sides at the moment: criticism, demands, and accusations. Here’s the latest from the second group: it’s in the form of the Federation of Small Businesses’ pre-Budget wish-list for SMEs.

It wants the government to abolish a planned increase in small business corporation tax (coming into force next year) and the creation of £1bn ’survival fund’ to bail out stricken businesses who can’t get bank funding.

Darling may repeal the tax hike, but that just leaves things the way they are. We doubt there’ll be much in the way of tangible goodies for small firms come 24 November.