Political discipline can be as vital as fiscal discipline Politicians" tinkering has created an increased set of regulatory risks for investors, writes Alison Smith From FTSE 100 boardrooms to one-person high street operations, UK companies can relax. "We're backing Britain's businesses all the way," George Osborne assured them. There were, indeed, signs that the chancellor has paid some attention to the ear-bashing he has received from sundry corporate and employers" lobby groups - the 2 per cent cap on business rates being the most obvious. But genuine and reliable support for business requires a more consistently disciplined approach than this government has recently displayed. In terms of the 59 measures announced on Thursday, small businesses have been the most successful sector in getting their message across in Whitehall. Of course, it helps that assistance for a struggling local shop or a sole trader is an easier political sell than moves that benefit multinationals. Still, within the £2.5bn package of business rate changes, smaller companies have the most to gain from moves such as the further extension of rate relief; the ability to pay in instalments; and the discount for retail properties in England with ratable values below £50,000. The next big prize for business rate campaigners is to persuade Mr Osborne to extend his review of how the tax is administered to how it is calculated. This will matter more as time passes. The cut to 20 per cent in the headline rate of corporation tax that is already in the pipeline means that by 2018-19 business rates will account for a sizeably higher proportion of corporate tax revenue than they do now. Elsewhere, the Autumn Statement was marked by the wide-ranging initiatives so beloved of chancellors of both parties: a £25bn infrastructure plan which - one hopes - might this time produce more than a fraction of the amount pledged in a way its predecessor has not; a tax allowance for shale gas development; tax relief for the visual effects industry; and a boost for the exchange traded funds industry. But insofar as such a diverse range of corporate activity can be said to have a single view, it is that businesses do not like uncertainty. Some of the unknowns UK businesses face in the coming years - a possible vote for Scottish independence and a referendum on UK membership of the EU - have become unavoidable. Others, however, are gratuitous. In its search for voter-friendliness, the government has shown itself worryingly ready to opt for intervening in markets. Sometimes, as in the case of Help to Buy, the intervention has benefited a particular industry. Even then, however, the start of an initiative inevitably produces speculation about when it will stop. Shares in housebuilders slipped 3-6 per cent on news last week that the government was diverting another of the incentive schemes - Funding for Lending - away from housing. Other government forays into markets are not even intended to help. The spat with energy companies has been resolved - for now - with a scaling back of levies and taxes. Yet the first muddled responses to Ed Miliband's pledge that Labour would freeze energy prices have left the suspicion that the coalition government could easily decide to intervene again as the election looms. Then there are the payday lenders. They have so few friends that Mr Osborne's plan to insist the Financial Conduct Authority use its power to cap the cost of this form of credit might have seemed an easy win. Instead, the government's decision to undermine the FCA's independence is particularly troubling. Taken together, such moves amount to an increased - and avoidable - risk for anyone investing in the UK. Meanwhile, the Office for Budget Responsibility is predicting that business investment will fall by 5.5 per cent in the current year. The immediate - and predictable - reaction of business lobby groups to Mr Osborne's statement was to move seamlessly on to their next wish lists, in which help for energy costs features prominently. They would do better to focus on this bigger issue. There is a strong case to argue. Mr Osborne is relying on business job creation. The OBR forecast of 3.1m more jobs by 2019 is at risk if government unpredictability deters investment. Though it may not feel like it at the time, abstaining from corporate-bashing crowd-pleasing tactics really is a better sort of political strategy.