Right now, across the land, stringers for tabloids are looking for the first tragic but photogenic family to have their home repossessed by “the people’s bank”, Northern Rock. They will be the poster family for this whole incompetent mess.

As Goldman Sachs walk away laughing after offering counsel that will have earnt them a fee not unadjacent to £10 million for advice that Vince Cable offered for free, Tom Scholar,* Gordon Brown’s former private secretary, joined the board of the people’s bank yesterday from the Treasury. He will be not just the eyes and ears of Darling and Brown but the one who casts their vote. So much for an “arms length” relationship…

Home repossessions are already up 94% since Labour ran this poster during the 2005 general election campaign. Now the government won’t just get the blame for rising home repossessions, it will actually be repossessing homes. The state will then of course be obliged to re-house them. Welcome back to the world of socialist economics…

*The girls in the typing pool at Northern Rock should be aware that he follows in the tradition of former CEO Adam Applegarth’s hands-on management style.