Number 10 this morning unveiled Boris Johnson’s big plan for tackling the cost of living.
The prime minister will - wait for it - chair a meeting of the government’s long-forgotten-about domestic and economic strategy committee “in the coming weeks”.
There, he and senior ministers will apparently sign off on policies to help voters tackle their soaring bills. Except chancellor Rishi Sunak is refusing to release any more cash to pay for them.
As workers begin to see the rise in national insurance hit their pay packets, at the same time as their energy, food and council tax bills soar, they will be forgiven for thinking the government has completely run out of ideas on how to help them.
Johnson chaired this morning’s cabinet, where we are told he “led a productive discussion on the government’s work to help people keep more of their money in the face of global price hikes”
And in case you were tempted to blame the PM and his team for the state of the economy, Number 10 were keen to point the finger at “continued disruptions in the global economy” caused by Covid lockdowns in China and the war in Ukraine.
The PM told his ministers “there was more to do” to help hard-pressed Brits, but was noticeably silent on what that might be.
Instead, Sunak highlighted the £22bn-worth of measures he’s already announced to reduce energy and council tax bills, but made it clear that the cupboard is pretty bare if anyone is expecting a further spending splurge.
“He underlined the importance of not feeding in to further inflation rises and emphasised that the UK is currently spending £80 billion servicing our debt,” said the PM’s spokesman.
So if you’re a public sector worker looking for a pay rise to help keep up with the soaring rate of inflation, think again.
With the local elections just nine days away, and the partygate row rumbling on, any Tories hoping for some big policy ideas to dig them out of a hole will be sadly disappointed.
A bit like the rest of the country, really.