The days of two-party politics are over. When voters go to the polls in England next week, they will have five main contenders to choose from. In Scotland and Wales, the nationalists make it a six-strong race.

This fragmentation reflects the deep discontent with Labour and the Conservatives. One thing in common between the Greens and Reform UK is that they are each benefiting from a sense that radical parties are worth a punt because nothing could be worse than it is now.

That’s not necessarily the case. Inflation is on the rise due to the war in Iran. Mortgages are becoming more expensive. The likelihood is that the economy’s strong start to 2026 will not be sustained. No question, things could turn very nasty indeed.

Faced with a new cost of living crisis, the government has a dilemma. There is a mismatch between what would be popular – subsidies to reduce energy bills, for example – and what the Treasury thinks the country can afford.

In theory that dilemma should not exist, because a government that issues its own currency has no limits on what it can spend. In practice, though, governments submit to the discipline imposed on them by the financial markets. There is no such thing as the Bond Dealers party, but there might as well be, because the people who trade in UK government debt exert a stranglehold on........

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