The silk bag holds the government’s plans not just for a year but for “the next 70”, says the prime minister, whose sands of time are fast running out. Improbably he promises to “address the challenges this country faces” with no “short-term gimmicks”; yet we expect a king’s speech short on the long-term and scattered with infantile banana skins that Labour will skip over lightly.
Little that is announced on Tuesday or in the autumn statement will even touch the edges of what troubles everyone most: the cost of living, rising NHS waiting lists, the climate crisis, declining public services, deepening hardship, regional inequality and immigration. Watch out for announcements that ignore all that matters, or make things worse.
