Employment at a new high, borrowing costs at a record low. So who’s afraid of Brexit?

The Chancellor certainly will have plenty to boast about in his next Budget. Today’s figures show an employment rate of 74.1pc, the highest ever recorded in Britain – better than Nigel Lawson’s record, better than anyone’s. Tax cuts and welfare reform have proved a potent combination.

This makes it harder for Osborne to sustain his narrative about a scary “cocktail of risk”, part of the general strategy of keeping voters fearful ahead of the EU referendum.