So Gordon Brown’s much vaunted fiscal rules are to be replaced with new ones, just as they were about to chafe. Cynics may sneer, but we at the Financial Times sympathise. Resolutions are never easy to keep, especially not when relying on willpower alone.

Many resolutions are tossed aside exactly at the moment they are most needed. For instance, diet plans are easy to sign up to when standing on the bathroom scales, but quickly abandoned when the dessert menu heaves into view.