As if we are not already inundated with dire warnings that the welfare state will collapse because fundamental decisions are not taken by pusillanimous politicians, the Office for Budget Responsibility has now added its own pennyworth looking ahead over the next half century.

It warns that an ageing population means that without any rises in tax or cuts in public spending, the budget deficit will continue to rise and ‘eventually put public sector net debt on an unsustainable upward trajectory' – i.e. the country will go bust.