Back to reality with a bump

Even if the “squeezed middle” have money to spare following the festive period, this will be swallowed up by hikes in train fares that vary between six and 11 per cent. In return, they’re likely to receive an inferior service – and have even less means to support those high street retailers on the financial brink.

And while the Prime Minister identified the “global drama” of the Olympics, and the glory of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, as being key to the country’s fortunes, he should remember this: both will revolve around London and will have a marginal impact on those regions, like Yorkshire, that find themselves on the wrong side of the North-South divide.

As such, many will be sceptical of Mr Cameron’s remarks about rising prices and corporate excess in the City of London. They heard such comments before the election and before 2011, and little has changed.

Some will perceive the City as being the cause of the banking crisis; others contend that its wealth is crucial to the recovery. Either way, 2012 must be the year when politicians, like the PM, start to honour their promises rather than tease taxpayers with false hopes.

That said, Mr Cameron does have the advantage of having his hand on the levers of power, even though the Eurozone crisis remains the great unknown of the next 12 months. The problem for Ed Miliband, the Opposition leader, is that he is not in control of events – or his own party now fractious at Labour’s inability to expose how the Coalition’s spending cuts have made little difference, yet, to the country’s crippling budget deficit.

Why is this? In short, voters still do not believe Labour have learned from the mistakes that the Tony Blair and Gordon Brown governments made. The consequence is that Mr Cameron is maintaining his position of strength because the Opposition is so weak, and that is not the best way to preside over an economy in desperate need of growth – or ensure that Britain’s public services offer genuine value for money. As such, a year of hard knocks awaits.