Austerity in Arcadia

I am sure our hearts all bleed for Sir Philip Green, whose retail empire has suffered a decline in profits of nearly forty per cent. Green, whom Daveybloke commissioned last year to pontificate upon the inefficiency of those parts of the national economy not owned by Sir Philip Green, stuck loyally to the Government's line and blamed the weather: "The warmest October and November on record have made autumn trading much tougher," he said, announcing plans to do his bit of the private sector's role in the recovery by firing the staff from two hundred and fifty stores. We're all in this together, after all, and there are still limits on the number of tax havens one can marry, even should one be so exalted an instrument of wealth creation as Sir Philip Green.