What is to be done? Well here are a few ideas to start with

TO THAT question of enduring resonance: What Is To Be Done? Chancellor Alistair Darling already has the stare of a man condemned. We are hurtling towards recession, its length and depth looking more severe than any that has faced chancellors for a generation. But Darling does not at all convey the impression of a man with a grasp of what's going on. Indeed, he seems fearful that any word he utters will condemn him for complacency from one side, and alarmism from the other.

Events are building to a critical tipping point for the Chancellor and the government this autumn. By that time the damage to the real economy will be more evident and the threat to the government's own revenues more pressing. The government faces an...