In part, the fact that we have much less spending power after taxes and bills have been paid can be blamed on inflation and the soaring cost of food, petrol and energy.

Food and drink has gone up by 25 per cent, as anyone who does a weekly shop will bitterly testify. Gas has risen by 28.3 per cent and petrol is up 27.9 per cent.

The Government can point to global economic problems but the truth is that taxation is the principal cause of our economic misery.

Labour has squeezed Middle Britain remorselessly in the past 10 years, mainly through stealth taxes but also by letting tax allowances rise at a slower rate than wages, dragging more people into higher tax bands.

Since 1997 the Government’s tax “take” has risen sharply. And where has all this money gone?

Public borrowing is at an all-time high while public services still fail to deliver.

For more than a decade, Labour has boasted about its stewardship of the economy. Yet now voters find themselves back at square one, worse off than they were in 1997 and with no prospect of any improvement in their lot.

We can be sure that any promises of tax cuts or tax holidays that are now extended by Labour will be no more than bribes to the electorate. The old Labour belief in high taxes and high spending is finally laid bare.