British labour leader tries to shed anti-business image

Labour Party leader Ed Miliband on Friday vowed to put Britain's small firms 'at the heart of government,' as he attempts to shake-off his centre-left party's anti-business image ahead of the general election in May, according to dpa.
Miliband made the remarks at the annual conference of the Federation of Small Businesses, where Conservative Chancellor George Osborne and Liberal Democrat Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg also spoke.
The Labour leader has been criticized by entrepreneurs and political opponents for saying last month that his party would stand up for small businesses by ending practices such as 'supply chain bullying' by larger firms.
A Labour government would set up a US-style small business administration and form regional development banks tasked with lending to small businesses, Miliband said in his speech, which drew a warm applause from the several hundred in attendance.
The election campaigns are intensifying seven weeks before ballots are cast.