Like many of us Hunt has dreams, but can’t afford them | Phillip Inman

As the budget looms, the chancellor has very little scope to deliver the sort of measures that might make people vote Tory

For many of us, the dream is a detached home with a garage and an acre of land, according to the most searched property terms of the last year. The dream is out of reach for most people, and so is another popular item - an annexe - which entered the top four in Rightmove's list for the first time in 2023.

This could be one reason why the gambling industry generates annual sales of 15.1bn, and 4.2bn in tax for the exchequer.