In Westminster and in Washington alike, politicians constantly say they want to stimulate entrepreneurship and promote investment. But warm words count for nothing if actions on the ground do not match the positive rhetoric from Downing Street and the White House.

The only pub in the village near my house in rural Malvern went bust and shut down. As an adventure, I bought it, refurbished the premises and relaunched the business late last year. The idea was never to make a significant profit but to open an establishment that would suit the community and of which I could be proud. Trading there has been tough, partly because of the poor weather. But we are making progress, and the locals have been supportive.

The ones who have not been so encouraging are the bureaucrats, despite the challenges facing the region. This part of the country is not wealthy: there are dozens of closed pubs and almost no outsiders putting money into the region. Yet the only communication of any kind I have had from government since I started the business has been bills, especially from the various tax authorities: property, employee, corporation, value added tax, licensing and so on. Never so much as a “thank you” or “good luck”.