The deficit has risen. The temptation is to say ‘despite George Osborne’s austerity policies’, but the truth is more that the deficit refuses to go down because of them. George Osborne is an economically illiterate incompetent, but at least the damage he’s doing to the country won’t affect him. Even if austerity was working, it would still be the wrong policy, because its lasting effect will be to destroy everything useful and decent that the Government does.

Still, at least Osborne’s uselessness isn’t driving a drastic increase in suicides, like Iain Duncan-Smith’s is.