THE votes have been counted, Tony Blair is back.

Whether that is good for business will only be seen as the months pass. Business has enjoyed the stability provided by Gordon Brown but there are fears that things are changing.

Despite a lot of high-profile support for Labour from captains of industry, there is increased scepticism among many business leaders. They are convinced that the Government is slowly shedding its business-friendly credentials and they are worried that extra burdens of tax and red tape targeted at them could follow the re-election of a Labour Government.

There are other worries. The economy is not as strong as it was, and manufacturing continues to haemorrhage jobs.

Business was quick to blast the proposal to replace the Department of Trade and Industry with a Department for Productivity, Energy and Industry.

Sir Digby Jones, the CBI director-general, said the name smacked of old-fashioned corporatism and 1960s trade unionism and was harking backwards, not forwards, an interesting phrase that echoes Labour’s election taunt at the Tories.

The other parties had pledged to scrap the DTI anyway, even though it was the most business switched-on ministry of them all.

A new DPEI will have to show it adds value to the private sector.

Sir Digby, once a strong supporter of the Blair Government, has been noticeably more strident in his criticism in recent months. He has warned that Britain is losing its edge in the race for inward investment.

Tax and red tape could well be turning some overseas investors from coming to the UK.

Indeed, Locate in Kent, the agency promoting the county as a great place for business, has just revealed that it has missed its jobs target for the first time.

Inward investment is a tough business these days, and competition is fierce. Anything that hinders efforts to woo jobs to the county, or to Britain, is unwelcome.

Business also believes the public sector remains less efficient than the private sector and wants more reform. That is not universally true. There is plenty of inefficiency on both sides.

The new Government faces many challenges. Businesses will be looking for clear early signs that it is on their side.

But with a Brown premiership in the offing, and a high number of left-wing MPs back at Westminster, they may well look in vain.