The economic slowdown is real and Brexit is mainly to blame. When, a few days ago, figures were released for gross domestic product in the first quarter, they were a bit of shocker. GDP rose by a paltry 0.1 per cent, the weakest for more than five years, and fell by 0.1 per cent on a per capita basis.

Worse, the guidance from the Office for National Statistics was that not much of this weakness was due to snow. Bad weather hit the weak construction sector, high street shops and transport but boosted online sales and demand for gas and electricity.

Preliminary GDP figures are a brave first stab by the statisticians, who soon will be providing monthly GDP estimates. It will be disappointing if