Nice to see that the Government is taking the economic conditions seriously.

They are promising not to make cuts (because only the opposition does that) and, to prove it, awarded themselves a 2.33% pay rise this year.

However, if you work for the Government, your pay will either be frozen or capped at less than 1%. This is because someone has to make the economies to pay for the sloppiness and indulgence of those held responsible for monitoring and regulating the economy.

Hang on – I exceeded all of my performance targets this year, which is more than can be said for those who are enjoying a far more generous pay rise than me, and who want me to give them credit for making “tough decisions.”

The “tough decision” I want New Labour to make is to accept that they were sleeping on the job, accept that they failed to regulate an industry they were demonstrably unable to understand, and then responded to the crisis by laying down the foundations for an economic boom and bust that would make the heady days of the 1980s look like a quiet day on a millpond.

And that’s before I even get started on their gross misconduct in education, social services, health and the small matter of a couple of wars.

There’s an election due. Bring it on.