This government has a growing stench of death around it that even a sudden economic recovery would do little to shift.
And thus we arrive at the most important (and inevitable) of all deflationary trends: demographic change. Retired people tend to consume less than their working age compatriots – thus putting downward pressure on demand as the population ages.
The NHS which has seen its productivity collapse, and is facing enormous cost pressures as the population ages, must surely be first in line for the application of the tools as they emerge.
A remarkable amount has been achieved. Often against the odds and in the face of adversity. And certainly in circumstances far less benign than those faced by New Labour.
Most Conservative MPs are desparate to avoid one any time soon. It may not have occured to some that bringing down the Bill could bring about precisely the outcome they want to avoid.
There is also a strong case for believing that it is risky if you have almost half of adults not paying income tax – the position we were approaching by the end of the Coalition.
This week, the Office for National Statistics informed us that the economy grew by 0.3 per cent in November. Not only was that above the 0.2 per cent expansion expected by analysts, but it was a recovery from a 0.3 per cent contraction the previous month.
Picture a triennial month-long regulation symposium, drawing on industry, consumer groups and political representation proportionate to seats in the Commons.
“Just over a year ago we were forecast to have the biggest recession in a 100 years, we have managed to avoid that,” Trott declares.
It has forgotten that rising prices are a disease of money, and has slid back to a world of “sticky” prices.
The Deputy PM says the economy is growing, debt will fall and the number of small boats has been cut by a third.
The key problem is stagnation. Margaret Thatcher’s reforms promoted mobility and opportunity. Now we are an economy which doesn’t change enough.
Those who claim the Conservatives would benefit from a spell in opposition to ‘rest and detox’ are misguided. My first nine years in Parliament were spent in opposition, and it was a frustrating experience.
He will probably judge it better to keep a conservative spending message and dial down on the more radical green growth programme. Which would require her to make a painful U-turn.
Any sincere reading of the British economy since 2010 need acknowledge one basic thing: that the essential problem with the modern economy isn’t income inequality, but a lack of income.