It makes it even more unlikely that the Bank of England will be able to reduce interest rates – the only move that is likely to afford the Prime Minister some respite from his critics.

Some will, however, be surprised that Mr Brown did not hold out the prospect of a new initiative to mitigate the impact of rising food prices.

Yet, as the PM has learned to his cost, there is very little that he can actually do to alleviate the country's financial turmoil, even though he is, ostensibly, the most powerful man in the country.

His government has, for months, been holding out the prospect of special measures to reduce the number of households in fuel poverty this winter. Officials also did nothing to counter reports that they intended to impose a windfall tax on energy suppliers.

However, Mr Brown has now been forced into a humiliating retreat when it emerged that the energy giants would, effectively, call his bluff and rise prices in response, thereby defeating the object of the exercise.

Householders are unlikely to be reassured by the Labour leader's claim that he is "cautiously optimistic" that the UK is well-placed to withstand the downturn. Given the PM's bullish language of recent times, this phrase is tantamount to admitting that the game is up.

And any remaining "optimism" on the Premier's part is likely to
be diminished by backbenchers, led by Leeds North East MP Fabian Hamilton, renewing their demands for a windfall tax – and Brendan Barber, General Secretary of the TUC, refusing to be drawn on whether he wanted Mr Brown to stand down as Prime Minister.

When a Labour leader cannot even be guaranteed the support of the trade unions ahead of their annual congress, then he is in serious difficulty. And the trouble, from Mr Brown's perspective, is that every decision that he now takes only serves to create a new set of problems to resolve. He has much food for thought this weekend.