A few months ago there were predictions that the next Parliament would be a ‘Parliament of Pain.' But will it? Most difficult tax and spend decisions have admittedly been shunted beyond May, either to an emergency Budget in June or the next Autumn Statement which will set out the next Spending Review.

But what is clear so far is that the public appetite for austerity is significantly less than in 2010 when voters accepted the principle of spending reductions and the difference between the main parties was simply the severity of the cuts.