Not pulling the plug
Vince Caldicot's company sells taps, toilets and other bits for bathrooms in Farnborough. Premiere Contract Supplies has a good reputation, and plenty of business. The thing he really needs to keep his company afloat is cash.
"We have a full order book which we really need to fund." he says, "But we're working hand to mouth on stock, because we still can't get funding from the main banks."
Half of us work for small businesses like Vince's. His 30 employees have all agreed to join him in taking a pay cut. They've cut overheads by 38 percent this year - so what are the politicians offering to help him?
Conservatives suggest a National Loan Guarantee Scheme to underwrite lending.Labour have put aside four billion pounds capital to encourage growing businesses.
Lib Dems want to put taxpayer representatives on bank boards - forcing them to lend.
Shouldn't this be at the heart of the election campaign? The voters are not mugs. We've seen the impact of the credit crunch in our daily lives. Friends and relatives have taken pay cuts and lost jobs. The final debate on the economy could be the crucial one.
Welcome to the hustings! I'm Peter Henley, the BBC's political reporter in the south of England. From parish councils in Sussex, to European politics in Oxford, this is the blog for you. 
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