On Monday the UK government declared total war on the economic crisis, and not a moment too soon. A long phony war ended abruptly with the financial system’s near-meltdown in October. Now, in the next phase of the crisis, the government is thankfully using a full arsenal of ammunition.

The October intervention was designed in haste but succeeded in staving off a collapse of the banks. What it failed to do was to restart lending. The credit crunch has now worsened to the point where the real economy is harming the banks, not just the other way around.