by business editor Trevor Sturgess

Business leaders have welcomed an end to political uncertainty after days of turmoil.

As Tories and Liberal Democrats begin their first day working together in the new coalition government, bosses expect confidence to return to the markets.

As a meeting of Kent Institute of Directors earlier today, the mood was described as "optimistic."

Alyson Howard, former chairman and now a business development manager with Maidstone law firm Brachers, said it was the start of something new and exciting.

She urged the new government to not only deal with the public sector deficit but also signal less interference in business. Her message was: "Now you're in, I really do want a bonfire of the regulations. You can't have the small and medium enterprises paying the price for the crimes of the bigger businesses."

Kent's business scene was showing signs of recovery, she said, and it was now vital for the new government to give business the freedom to employ people on a more flexible basis and be less interventionist.

She welcomed Vince Cable's appointment to a key business role in the Cabinet, although she would have preferred to see the senior Liberal Democrat as Chancellor of the Exchequer rather than the Tory George Osborne.

Jo James, chief executive of Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce, representing around 1,000 firms in Ashford, Maidstone, Canterbury and West Kent, was pleased the uncertainty was over.

She hoped the new government would spell out a clear plan for sorting out the deficit, and signal its commitment to business by scrapping the planned rise in National Insurance. "That's something where they can easily demonstrate they are putting business at the heart of it," she said. "It needs business to get the economy back on track."

Richard Lambert, CBI director-general, said: "Business wants to see a stable Government with the authority to take the tough decisions that will be required to keep the economic recovery on track and to get a grip on the fiscal deficit."

Phil Orford, chief executive of the Forum of Private Business, added: "It is imperative that our MPs put aside point-scoring and work together to make Britain a stable and prosperous place to run a business."