According to the official figures released last week, the UK consumer price index increased by 3 per cent over the previous 12 months. I do not know anyone who believes that figure. There has always been scepticism about official measures of inflation, but the gap between popular perceptions and the government’s statistics has never been so wide.

The popular newspapers have sent intrepid reporters down to the shops to discover the truth, by filling a typical shopping basket. The results are “alarming”, “the most savage increase in living costs for a generation”. The Daily Express found an 11½ per cent increase in prices, the Daily Mail put it at 15 per cent.