Those hunting for ugly economic facts will find a surfeit of them in Britain.

Could the real horror show be the public finances? Net borrowing is high relative to most major economies. It was 2.6 per cent of gross domestic product in 2007/8 and, according to the Treasury’s forecasts, will be about 3 per cent for this fiscal year and next. If the last downturn is anything to go by, UK governments can get their sums spectacularly wrong.

External “pessimistic scenario” forecasts, predicated on a slowdown of growth to below 1 per cent this year, point to net borrowing of about 4 per cent of GDP by 2009/10.