We got there in the end. Ever since the British government lent tens of billions of pounds to Northern Rock, and guaranteed its deposits, nationalising the bank has looked the best way to protect taxpayers’ money. There has been five months of delay during a search for a private sector buyer, but the right choice has now been announced by Alistair Darling, the chancellor.

Nationalisation was never an attractive option; it was the least bad of the limited options available. A private rescue that needed no public money would have been ideal, but Northern Rock was in too much trouble for that. Insolvency, the normal solution for a troubled company, would have been fine if it did not mean chaos for retail depositors under Britain’s current laws.