The three men who are viewed as the nation's would-be kings yesterday brandished their sharpest anti-red tape scissors to cut to the chase and woo new courtiers from the business community.

Snipping (and no, not on this occasion sniping) in the blue corner were would-be Tory leaders David's Cameron and Davis.

In the opposite red corner Chancellor Gordon Brown, who went into scissorwielding overdrive at the annual conference of the Confederation of British Industry. And in the audience, a deadpan ensemble of the movers and shakers of the business community.

Day one of the two-day event at the Business Design Centre in Islington saw the two Davids - who both fancy being Prime Minister one day - and Gordon Brown, who may get a chance to actually be just that sooner than they, a chance to pitch to the great wealth creators and commercial decision makers of the nation.

So, with a few light-hearted lines - met largely with stoney silence, fidgets and what many of the audience saw as akin to blowing tumble weed - away they went.

One of the key areas under the spotlight was overregulation, the long-standing bane of many a business and of many a complaint.

David Cameron's take on the subject: We've got a regulatory burden estimated at £40 billion a year.

Britain has fallen from 13th to 51st in the world regulation league table. Overall the UK is down from fourth to 13th in world competitiveness rankings.

''You can't win the battle against red tape unless you win the intellectual and cultural battle for open markets.''

David Davis's take: Since 1997 the cost of additional regulations to business is £40 billion - and it's now rising at £6 billion a year.

He said we need to reduce tax, pension and regulatory burden to allow people to do what they do best - create jobs and wealth.

Interesting, from the conference audience point of view of course, how the figures and the sentiments are not exactly out of step.

And as for the Chancellor - he revealed a whole raft of measures. Moves to save £ 300 million a year in administration burdens, action on goldplating - duplication of Euro and UK measures and much, much more.

That aroused the conference somewhat.

It has been said - on a number of times - that the nation as a whole is sceptical over the ability of politicians to do what they say and say what they do.

Judging from yesterday's responses to the trio of speeches (not wild acclaim from the floor, it's fair to say) the business community takes a similar view about our would-be 'kings'.

The only thing is, Gordon Brown is in a position to deliver and the economic clock is ticking.

The business community is urging him to get snipping with a vengeance.

The success of his measures may well help them decide whether he's the man to wield the scissors in the highest office.